


morning star.

by hamsterhyung



Category: Kpop - Fandom, Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Slow Burn, devil!changkyun, human!hyungwon, inspired by dc comics' lucifer morningstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-06-21 16:32:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15561870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamsterhyung/pseuds/hamsterhyung
Summary: hyungwon used to be an ordinary twenty-three year old, living on his own in the outskirts of seoul and working the nightshift at a gas station to provide for himself. until one night, a stranger - claiming to be none other than the devil himself - interrupted his shift and turned his entire world upside down.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **disclaimer: this is a fictional story loosely based off of the fictional DC universe character: Lucifer Morningstar. i am not religious and anything religion-related mentioned in this fanfic should be taken with a grain of salt. religion-related references are purely based off of fictional content, not real religion.
> 
> hope you enjoy!

“that’s a nice suit you got there.” a group of about five men emerged from the alleyway, their faces hidden behind the shadows of the night — all but of the man who spoke, a dirty grin curled on his lips with rotten, yellow teeth flashing. a young adult came to a halt, his white dress shoes shining like beacons underneath the moonlight. he smiled as he fixed the button of his blazer and straightened out his shoulders. “well thank you, kind sir. it’s a prada original. you see, i—”

 

“yeah, that’s enough talking, kid. hand over your belongings and we’ll let you go of easy.” they inched closer to the young man, surrounding him, four hands reaching into back pockets to pull out a small knife. the dirty old man took an extra step, his physique noticeably larger than that of their prey. not that the young adult seemed even the slightest bit bothered, a disappointed sigh passing his lips. “i’m afraid i can’t do that, sir. these are my clothes and i would prefer to keep them on.”

 

“guess we’ll have to rip them off your dead body then,” another one of the old men spoke up, his voice croaking from years of heavy smoking. the male did not move, merely emitted an amused little chuckle as he began to roll up his sleeves with utmost precision. “oh, i would be delighted to see you try.”

 

///

 

the silence in the neighborhood had promised for an ordinary night as hyungwon settled behind the counter of the convenience store. he was lucky to have scored a job just outside the center of seoul, where the high of customers was only shortly after work hours where business people would fill up their tank and grab a snack for the road home. hyungwon came in just after, to tend to the occasional traveler, but mostly the few neighborhood students after they finished up their cram school studies at night. there wasn’t really much action going on around a gas station, and that’s exactly why hyungwon enjoyed his job.

 

commotions rarely happened, though when they did, most of the time it was just an old man from the neighborhood who lost his footing on the way down the steep alleyway. so when the clock hit two in the morning and hyungwon stepped outside to take out the trash and a group of men came running from the alley, screaming in fear about the devil, something in him told him this night wasn’t going to be as ordinary as he’d thought.

 

a mumble came from behind the concrete wall, separating the gas station from the alleyway, and everything inside hyungwon told him to turn and walk away, though he swallowed down his thumping heart and approached with caution. slow and steady, with little steps, so he wouldn’t be heard—

 

“aha, back for another fight, are we?”

 

“oh my god—”

 

“now now, there is no need to bring father into this.” a young man in an incredibly expensive looking suit, emerged from the shadows, carefully fixing the wrist button of his sleeve. he wore a frown on his forehead, which took place for a charming smile as soon as his eyes met hyungwon’s, who stood frozen, staring, knuckles turning white as they clenched around the bags of trash he was still holding.

 

“oh my… aphrodite, is that you?” his voice was oddly formal, as if he came straight out of the joseon era, yet there was a slight, foreign accent to it -- but that wasn’t the weirdest thing. hyungwon straightened his posture, blinked a couple of times as he tried to wrap his head around what was going on. “what? n-no, i… my name is hyungwon-”

 

“but surely you must be an angel, with such ridiculous beauty and that cotton candy pink hair.” 

 

hyungwon stood baffled, unsure whether he just received a compliment or got ridiculed in the subtlest way possible. he dropped a bag and slowly brought a hand up to his head, brushing thin fingers along silky strands of pink hair. a smile threatened to form on his lips, which he chose to interrupt by quickly clearing his throat, lowering his hand (as if burned) and shaking his head. “no, i’m not— i’m sorry, who are you?”

 

the other male almost seemed offended by the question, lips pursing as he folded his arms over his chest, broadening his smaller physique to look more intimidating, and, well— it worked. hyungwon hunched his shoulders, inching back a little to create some safe space between the two of them.

 

“i’m the one and only lucifer morningstar, lord of darkness, beelzebub— whatever you call me down here.”

 

“lucifer..?” devils, angels, gods. now  _ that  _ was the weird thing. hyungwon had never been religious, but he knew a thing or two from his best friend jooheon— speaking of which; it had been a while since he pulled a prank on hyungwon… things were finally starting to make some sense here.

 

“okay, hah, very funny. you can tell jooheon he got me. now if you’ll excuse me, i have to get back to work.” hyungwon heaved out a sigh as he picked up the bag of trash and carried them over to the container. with that chore finally out of the way, he turned around to head back into the store, only to be met with little mister expensive suit right in front of his face. 

 

“who’s jooheon? and why aren’t you being all shocked and scared like most of you humans are when i introduce myself?”

 

this kid surely enjoyed talking, though hyungwon was starting to grow a bit tired of it. he ducked down, carefully maneuvering himself around the other male’s side to get back to the building, but the moment he reached the door, a hand pressed against the glass— hard. he sincerely tried, but in no way was hyungwon able to pull it open - not even by a millimeter. not only was this kid rich and intimidating, he was also incredibly strong for someone his size. 

 

“look,” hyungwon sighed, trying to calm down his thumping heart. he wasn’t necessarily scared of this guy, but his presence was just… stupidly overwhelming. “you can stop playing pretend, okay? now  _ please  _ let go of the door so i can do my job.”

 

the stranger seemed hesitant, though he slowly removed his hand from the glass and stepped back, allowing hyungwon to open the door and head back inside the store.

 

a part of him expected to be followed, for intimidating rich kid to be standing right there as hyungwon got to the counter and turned around in his seat, but mister morningstar was long gone. he sighed, shifting back in his seat. 

 

it seemed this was going to be just an ordinary night after all.

 

///

 

“next time you come and bother me at work, have the guts to do it yourself.” hyungwon whined as he plopped himself down on a dirty old couch, cushions protected by a single knitted blanket made by grandma’s truly. “and you really need to invest in new furniture.”

 

“okay, first of all,” jooheon emerged from the kitchen, holding two drinks; a glass of water for hyungwon, and a good ol’ can of cass beer for himself. he seated himself on a lounging chair opposite of his best friend, grinning from ear to ear. “that couch you’re sitting on? that thing has a lot of memories to it… and in it. no way i’m gonna replace that.” hyungwon’s disgusted face and repositioning to another chair told him the message had gone through. “and secondly; what are you talking about?”

 

hyungwon, still busy violently wiping at his rear end to remove imaginary dirt, let out a discontent groan as he finally sat properly and reached for his glass of water. “you know, the whole.. the devil has come for you~ act the other night. did you seriously think you could scare me with that?”

 

an eyebrow cocked up on jooheon’s forehead, an amused little snort coming through his nose. “that sounds like a great prank, but it wasn’t me. i don’t fuck with the devil.” 

 

“yeah, sure, like it’s totally normal for some random kid with a weirdly noble accent to show up at work claiming he’s the almighty lord of darkness himself after a group of old men ran past screaming about seeing the devil.” 

 

something shifted in the air- as well as jooheon in his seat, the cheek fading from his expression as eyebrows knitted into a frown. hyungwon noticed it all too well, and an unnerving feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. “it… it really wasn’t your doing, was it?”

 

jooheon slowly shook his head, his lips parting to speak, though he was beat to it as minhyuk appeared from the other room and settled onto his lap. “sounds like someone escaped from the mental hospital. but hey hyungwon, it’s good to see you! how is your roommate search going?”

 

jooheon and hyungwon remained silent for a moment, exchanging concerned looks — jooheon most concerned of all as he was most likely  _ actually _ considering the presence of the devil on earth. hyungwon, on the other hand, was more worried about who exactly he had run into, a possible ulterior motive, or if he had just escaped a possible mugging unscathed and there was really nothing more to it.

 

or maybe it was just a prank after all, only with the wrong person falling for it — whatever it was, hyungwon probably didn’t have to be so worried about it. he heaved out a sigh as he leaned back in his seat, soft smiles returning after he took a sip from his drink, shrugging nonchalantly. “no reactions so far, but it’s only been a week since the ads are up.”

 

“someone will bite eventually,” minhyuk replied, flashing hyungwon a promising smile before he pressed a kiss to jooheon’s cheek and got up. “but i just came to say hi before going to work, so i’ll be heading out now.”

 

hyungwon placed down his glass onto the coffee table and got up as well. “actually, i need to pick up chaewon from the daycare. would you mind dropping me off on the way there?”

 

minhyuk nodded, grinning happily before he disappeared to the hallway to retrieve his jacket. hyungwon moved to join him, though halted in his step as jooheon’s fingers loosely wrapped around his wrist.

 

“please, be careful.”

 

///

 

hyungwon spent most of his life on his own, having gone from dorm to apartment to apartment since he was but fourteen years old. private schools and their dormitories and all that. though he dropped out at the age of sixteen and moved to a cheaper, public high school, where he had the pleasure of meeting minhyuk who decided to take hyungwon under his wing. 

 

skip ahead two years and chaewon was born. hyungwon wasn’t all that happy to hear his mother had moved on to another man and conceived a baby with that stranger — shocked she was fertile, mostly. he may have been young, but he knew his parents had tried when he was little - and the devastated looks on their faces after ‘just a trip to dear doctor kim’ had told him all he needed to know. 

 

but it only took one look and a second of holding the newborn for hyungwon to swear loyalty and protection to his little sister. chaewon was absolutely beautiful, with hair pitch black like a raven’s wing, and eyes so bright and yellow it was as if they held the sun itself, within. 

  
  


“hey, sunshine.” hyungwon laughed softly as tiny arms wound around one of his legs and hugged the limb to a pillowy cheek. chaewon nuzzled against the fabric of her brother’s pants until her skin flushed red, before she turned her head to look back over her shoulder. hyungwon didn’t need to follow her gaze to know — was in fact already ahead of her in staring at god’s finest creation; teacher hoseok. he was the caretaker of chaewon’s group, and coincidentally also the most attractive man hyungwon had ever seen in his life.

 

“go.” chaewon had wriggled her way behind hyungwon and pressed her tiny little hands against his buttocks to push him forward (and seriously, that kid had a lot of strength, as hyungwon totally unwillingly moved towards hoseok). 

 

hyungwon was met with a kittenish smile - or more like a bunny, and a hand immediately shot up to awkwardly scratch at his nape, head dipping down shyly as the corners of his lips twitched to present a soft smile of his own. 

 

“hey,” hoseok started, as usual, pushing himself up from his knees after saying goodbye to one of the children. 

 

“hi–,” hyungwon greeted as if in a rush, nearly choking on the sharp breath he inhaled after. behind him, he could hear chaewon giggle, causing the apples of his cheeks to flush a light pink. hoseok most definitely noticed too, as he lowered his gaze a little and emitted a chuckle.

 

“suits your hair.”

 

“what—?”

 

“your makeup.” hoseok pointed at one of hyungwon’s cheeks, who stared, dumbfounded for a moment, before he croaked out a nervous laugh and tugged up his sleeve to wipe at the skin. “aha, yeah, my makeup…”

 

“anyway, i wanted to thank you for the cupcakes. chaewon told me you made them.” 

 

hyungwon’s surprise had yet to fade — instead, it grew stronger. a questioning frown tugged at his forehead as hoseok raised a hand from behind his back to show a small container, holding an obviously burned muffin with poorly done icing on the top in what is presumably the shape of a heart. on top of it, written in even more poorly done icing, it read ‘i love hoseok’ in a font only hyungwon was able to decipher.

 

“yeah, i… i wouldn’t eat that, if i were you.” hyungwon commented, his voice a bit shaky and his cheeks bright red in embarrassment by now. “i-i’m not a good cook.” he quickly added.

 

hoseok smiled again, warm and soft and fuzzy — fuzzy being how hyungwon felt inside whenever he’d see that adorable curl at the corners of hoseok’s lips. “well, it’s the thought that counts.” the teacher took a step back, announcing the end of their little interaction, though his gaze briefly remained locked onto hyungwon’s eyes. “i’ll see you again soon?”

 

“of course.” there was no stumble, no croak, and definitely no hesitation in hyungwon’s voice this time, giving hoseok one last, little wave before he turned back, heading over to chaewon who had made her way to the exit doors. her tiny hand slid right into his, holding on tightly as they left the premises.

  
  


“did he talk about the cupcake?” chaewon questioned after giving her brother an attentive tug to his hand. hyungwon glanced down, lips pursed and eyes narrowed as he shot the little girl a playful glare. “you sneaky little devil. does mom know you snuck around the kitchen?”

 

there was a permanent grin etched on chaewon’s lips, one that wouldn’t falter even as she shook her head. “daddy helped me.”

 

hyungwon’s demeanor changed at the mention of his sister’s father, nostrils flared in annoyance as he inhaled sharply, tugging chaewon along to hurry across the crosswalk. “i didn’t tell him,” chaewon said, causing hyungwon to look back down. her smile had managed to fade and he immediately regretted letting his bitterness get the best of him. “about you liking boys.” chaewon added and hyungwon sighed, his chest aching with sadness and endearment at the same time. he gave her an affectionate ruffle to her hair, causing her own smile to return, remaining evident even as she pouted and reached up to pat the ruffled mess down.

 

“shall we get some ice cream before i bring you home?” hyungwon suggested to change the topic, lift their spirits a bit before they had to say goodbye for the day. chaewon began bouncing on the spot, suddenly filled with so much energy only a child her age could have after a long and tiring day.

 

“i want strawberry flavor!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hyungwon gets a new roommate and a trip to church ends a bit differently than usual.

“his hair was super red, like… strawberry red! and his nose was all pointy and his jawline was like,  _ super _ sharp.” minhyuk was waving an arm around as he spoke, his actions as exaggerated as always. jooheon had stopped listening, not even the slightest bit interested in hearing about all the men his boyfriend encountered on a daily. it was part of minhyuk’s second job as a bartender, nothing to be worried about - but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t prefer minhyuk to just stick to his gas station job only.

 

hyungwon, on the other hand, was hearing all of it — much to his displeasure, though it was kind of hard to focus on anything else when he was sitting in the backseat of minhyuk’s car without the radio on to distract him. 

 

“anyway,” minhyuk was well aware what the silence meant, but it was unlike him to have that stop him from talking. “so he came to the bar looking all like he was totally the shit - even though he’s like a forehead smaller than me - and he leans over, orders three fingers of pure whiskey, and tells me he’s looking for some dude named lucifer—“

 

suddenly, two pairs of ears were perked — even jooheon has pried his gaze away from the window in favor of staring at his boyfriend with wide eyes. minhyuk seemed quite surprised by the change, himself, eyebrows knitted into a confused frown as he snuck a glance at the two passengers.

 

“so~ i… told him about hyungwon’s encounter, and–“

 

“you did what—“ hyungwon had come to lean in, fingers tightly holding onto the edge of the driver’s seat.

 

“i only gave him your address!”

 

“you did  _ what _ ?!” jooheon was the one to exclaim this time and at that moment, minhyuk finally got a grasp on the direness of the situation, and how absolutely stupid he’d been. 

 

“he… seemed harmless.” was his half-assed excuse, lips pursing into a thin pout.

 

jooheon tossed himself back in his seat, groaning in frustration before a painful silence settled inside the car. all three were well aware there was little they could do in this situation — the address had been given and they - or rather, hyungwon - could only hope it didn’t get in the hands of people with malicious intent. 

 

or hyungwon could request to spend the night at his friends’ place, though the palpable tension between the two lovers in the front seat, told him it was best to stay away from whatever was going to happen once minhyuk and jooheon returned to their apartment.

 

minhyuk was trying hard not to speak, gnawing at his bottom lip as he turned the corner into hyungwon’s neighborhood, pulling up into the parking lot across the apartment complex. hyungwon mumbled a ‘thank you’ as he fiddled with the seatbelt, discovering that rushing to unbuckle it only takes longer – and when it finally came undone, the iron thudded against the window.

 

“shit-,” hyungwon hissed lowly, checking the window for any potential cracks. luckily, the seatbelt seemed to have done no harm to minhyuk’s car. however, upon inspection, hyungwon had discovered a whole different problem — a problem in the form of a young adult in expensive clothing, standing across the street, shaking hands with his landlord. 

  
  


“it’s him—“ his voice was but a little wheeze, though it was enough to alert both minhyuk and jooheon, their gazes simultaneously snapping to the right window. 

 

“ _ who _ is he, exactly?” minhyuk asked first, not exactly making the connection with the red-haired male he had just spoken of. jooheon didn’t seem to, either, averting his gaze to shoot hyungwon a questioning look.

 

“the guy from the other night - at the gas station–”

 

both front seaters turned back to the window, leaning in as if that would get them a closer look at the young adult on the opposite side of the street. it was minhyuk who leaned back first, showing initiative to leave the car first, but was held back by his boyfriend.

 

“we have to think this through—”

 

“come on, jooheon, he’s a  _ kid _ .” minhyuk sighed, pulling his wrist from jooheon’s grasp before getting out of the car. the two passengers held their breath as they watched the oldest of the three, cross the street and politely greet hyungwon’s landlord with a bow, followed by a friendly nod in this ‘lucifer’ guy’s direction. 

a few minutes passed without hyungwon nor jooheon moving an inch, though it felt like they’d been waiting for hours when minhyuk finally turned back in their direction and signalled the two to come over. 

 

neither one of them did, unmoving from their seat, only sparing each other the occasional glance of judgement. an inner gut feeling told this all was a bad idea, even as minhyuk showed a pair of thumbs up. jooheon casted hyungwon another glance, and that’s when he realized the youngest may have been the most scared of the both of them. at least hyungwon wasn’t actually considering the possibility of the devil being amongst humans, which eventually convinced him to grab the door handle and exit the car.

 

“hyungwon— are you sure?” jooheon was following close behind him, not exactly clinging on, but he could feel his friend’s breathing in his neck as the younger spoke. 

 

“minhyuk seems to trust him.” hyungwon reassured, and his words seemed to calm down jooheon a bit, as well. minhyuk may have been the overly hyper, social butterfly with stupidly impulsive tendencies, out of the three of them — but he was also the one best friend they could always count on. his decisions were questionable at times, however, his trust was not.

  
  


“ah, mister chae! your timing is just magnificent.” hyungwon was taken aback by his landlord’s unordinary cheerfulness, blinking rapidly when the old man clasped his hands within his own. “let me introduce you to your new roommate; mister im.” the landlord pulled away to outstretch a hand in the direction of rich kid in his expensive suit. minhyuk seemed to be just as - if not more excited than the old man, wrapping an arm around the stranger’s shoulders with a wide grin etched onto his lips. “hyungwon, meet changkyun, a twenty-one year old exchange student from hell, norway.”

 

“... i thought you said your name was lucifer morningstar,” hyungwon noted (and really, hell, norway? that sounded as plausible as being the devil… though at least the first did exist).

 

a little smirk curled upon the rich kid—  _ changkyun _ his lips, and he took a step closer after nudging minhyuk’s arm from his shoulders. “well, people don’t seem to quite fancy that name, now do they?” his voice was low, cocky - just loud enough for only hyungwon to hear. it sent a cold shiver down his spine, and only when he straightened his back, did hyungwon realize he had actually leaned in closer to listen to changkyun. 

 

“mister im here, already paid his deposit and six months of rent upfront, and he’ll be moving in right away.” the landlord continued, all four of them returning their attention to him, but not without hyungwon catching a wicked grin etched on changkyun’s lips, obviously aimed towards him, before he pried his gaze away.

 

there was only one worry on hyungwon’s mind right now - and strangely enough, it was about how frustratingly charming his new roommate was.

 

///

 

only twenty-four hours had passed, yet hyungwon’s phone was bombarded with messages from jooheon - one-hundred and fifty-six, to be precise - asking him if he was alright, if the apartment seemed safe, if changkyun was really to be trusted or if his new roommate seemed suspicious. he wouldn’t have minded the concern, had jooheon just asked those four questions once, instead of repeating them continuously over the span of a whole freaking day.

 

hyungwon had responded with a ‘ _ yes, i’m fine, and changkyun doesn’t seem too weird _ ’ just before heading off to bed, and his phone remained silent for the first hour, but then it kept buzzing the poor male out of his very much needed beauty sleep, so he had to switch it to silent.

 

only to wake up to sixty new messages.

  
  


he was decent enough to send another message at an attempt to reassure, before hyungwon scrambled himself together and crawled out of bed. upon opening the bedroom door, the unusual smell of baked eggs and bacon caused for hyungwon’s nose to scrunch, his routine trip to the bathroom momentarily stalled as he dragged tired feet towards the kitchen.

 

“a wonderful morning to you, my dear aphrodite!” changkyun stood there, behind the stove, sinfully cheerful this early in the morning and wearing his cockiness all over his smug face. no, not just his face - it was all over his body - his aura.  _ gross _ .

 

“hyungwon,” the taller male corrected croakily, his voice still tainted with early morning drowsiness. he crossed his arms over his chest, fingers sleepily scratching at an elbow. “and what are you doing?”

 

“why, making you humanity’s favorite breakfast, of course!” changkyun seemed genuinely offended by hyungwon’s need to question him, waving the spatula in the air as he gestured in an exaggerated manner that could only be comparable to minhyuk’s shenanigans. 

 

“though… you don’t seem to be as exhilarated to be served this dish. odd. those american sitcom women were ecstatic every single time…” changkyun’s voice was muffled mid-sentence as the new roommate cupped a hand over his mouth in thought - though hyungwon had heard enough to understand, and could even spare an endeared chuckle in response.

 

the reaction seemed to have caught changkyun off guard, as he raised his gaze from the stove and back to hyungwon, with a confused frown tugged on his eyebrows. for a moment, the cocky rich kid looked nothing more than a lost child, and hyungwon saw the possibility of him growing to like the self-proclaimed devil.

 

“watching american sitcoms isn’t exactly the  _ best _ way to learn about south-korean culture,” hyungwon explained, amusement still very clear in his voice. he stepped closer, taking a pair of chopsticks from one of the drawers, and he carefully picked a piece of scrambled egg from the pan. “but i appreciate the gesture.”

 

hyungwon carefully blew to cool down the bite before slipping the piece past his lips, eyes widening in surprise at how good it actually tasted. he hadn’t expected much, never actually having had the chance to try eggs and bacon, but this was definitely a dish he wouldn’t mind waking up to more frequently.

 

changkyun remained silent, scrutinizing hyungwon as he ate the food. the older was about to complain, say something about how it was rude to just stare - however, he was beaten into silence by the upwards curl of thin lips. changkyun was smiling— and it wasn’t that wicked, cocky smile or anything of the like, no.

 

changkyun was  _ genuinely _ smiling.

 

///

 

“he sincerely seems like a good guy,” hyungwon told jooheon as they crossed the street, heading over to pick up chaewon from church. it was a sunday afternoon, and while the daycare was closed at this time, hoseok, who so happened to be a resident of the district’s church, had taken it upon himself to take care of chaewon while her parents were both at work. hyungwon had strongly opposed to the idea at first, not wanting to involve the innocent daycare worker into their messy family affairs, but hoseok had insisted it was no bother - and by that time, chaewon had already grown very fond of her teacher. it took nothing more than a small child’s pout and an adult’s smile for hyungwon to experience a change of heart.

 

“he made me eggs and bacon the morning after he moved in,” hyungwon continued. “he even cleaned a bit, and...”

 

“and?”

 

“and then, he— uh… he went outside and i haven’t seen him since.”

 

“you haven’t seen him in two days?” jooheon didn’t seem at all impressed by what hyungwon had told him, a permanent frown settled onto eyebrows that would otherwise always be raised in a cheerful expression - and hyungwon felt largely to blame for it.

 

“so you’re telling me this random guy who claims to be the devil, pays two and a half million won in cash to convince your landlord to let him live with you, and then disappears into thin air only one day later… and you trust him to be a  _ good  _ guy?”

 

hyungwon blinked slowly in surprise, coming to a halt.

 

“and what about that red haired dude minhyuk talked about, huh? has he shown up yet? or are you no longer worried about that? you think he’s a good guy, too?”

 

a brief pause - and jooheon came to a halt as well, heaving out a shaky sigh with immediate regret of his outburst written all over his face. turning back, the younger rested a hand upon his best friend’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “i’m sorry, wonnie. i’m just—“

 

“worried. i know.” hyungwon flashed a soft smile, and even though it was stained with hints of pain, he’d forgiven jooheon right away. there was more to this than just odd strangers and weird situations; jooheon had always been a little overprotective of him since they were little, despite hyungwon being the older one. jooheon was like the older brother he always wished he had, and although with age, the two became more independent, jooheon still had his moments—

 

“of  _ course _ i am. i’ve been having this bad feeling ever since you told me about your encounter at work, and it’s only become worse since i saw that changkyun kid in person…”

 

— _ especially _ when his gut feeling came into play.

 

hyungwon couldn’t blame jooheon for it, though, as he couldn’t deny the odd sensation in the pit of his stomach ever since that first encounter, either. however, he wasn’t a child anymore, and jooheon had to realize he no longer needed constant protection.

 

“heoni… if anything happens, i can take care of it myself, okay?”

 

jooheon didn’t respond, only showing hyungwon a concerned frown - which really wasn’t all that out of place - though he shrugged it off and nudged his friend along, “come on, chaewon is waiting for us.” 

 

///

 

usually, hyungwon would drop off jooheon at the church for his afternoon service, then move around the side to head up a set of stairs leading to a living area, where hoseok would be waiting in the door opening with chaewon at the ready.

 

however, after saying his goodbyes to jooheon and heading up the stairs as usual, hyungwon found himself in front of a closed door instead. it had happened once before where the door had been shut - however, it had never been locked, like it was now.

 

“teacher?” hyungwon called out meekly, hesitantly knocking onto the wooden front door. there was that feeling again in his stomach, though it seemed a bit out of place to be acting up here. hyungwon took a deep breath, knocked again. “hoseok, are you there?”

 

silence.

 

“i-it’s hyungwon. i’m here to pick up chaewon.”

 

still no answer. 

 

perhaps they were attending the service downstairs, hyungwon thought to himself, attempting to drown out the bad feeling inside with positive thoughts. he slowly exhaled the deep breath he’d taken, turning around to head back down the stairs - when, suddenly, the front door flew open and a big man brushed past him. he was fast - rushing through and disappearing within the blink of an eye. gone with the wind.

 

hyungwon was pressed against the railing, clinging onto the metal, as he tried to process what just happened. he blinked once- twice, recalled the very brief meeting of two pure gold eyes. 

 

“oh my- hyungwon, are you alright?” hoseok appeared from the door opening, big, muscular arms reaching out to move hyungwon away from the railing with such delicacy, as if he was a valued piece of porcelain that could break at the simplest of touches. the blush that came along with, couldn’t be fought back.

 

“i’m fine… i’m fine.” hyungwon mumbled more to himself than in response to hoseok, a silly smile persistently twitching at the corners of his lips, no matter how hard he tried to keep it down. hoseok carefully led him through the corridor, onto the safety of the poofy, vintage couch. it wasn’t vintage like jooheon and minhyuk’s couch, but vintage in a way that reminded hyungwon of medieval castles and handsome princes and pretty princesses, with the silk couch covers and pearl beading on the sewing creases.

 

“i must apologize… i was in a heated discussion with an unexpected visitor. i didn’t know you were outside.” hoseok rested upon his knees at hyungwon’s feet, much like the position he’d be in when waving the daycare children off. it was both endearing and embarrassing, and hyungwon was quick to cover the lower half of his face to somewhat hide himself, faking a cough.

 

“it’s okay,” was all hyungwon could respond with as he found himself lost, staring into hoseok’s dark brown eyes. they would always twinkle so prettily, so much love and warmth hidden within - it was hard not to notice them from a distance, let alone when they were this close. 

 

a silence settled between the two of them, though their gazes never broke away. hoseok’s eyes even seemed to slowly be getting closer with time, glowing, shining, until they suddenly lost their focus and lowered - and within that split second, hyungwon swore he saw a spark of gold.

 

“teacher, i can’t find my bag–” chaewon’s voice echoed from the hallway and abruptly, hoseok stood up and cleared his throat, awkwardly scratching at his nape as he looked around the room. only then did hyungwon realize it hadn’t been his imagination that had brought them closer, and his mind began to freak out completely. he’d just missed out on the one and only chance of a first kiss with the most beautiful human being to ever exist, hadn’t he?

 

hoseok retrieved the bag from a lounging chair next to the fireplace, and headed over to chaewon, who still stood in the hallway, eyes wide and gaze shifting back and forth between the two adults in the room.

 

“here you go, little one.” there was a hint of embarrassment in hoseok’s voice that hyungwon had never heard before - and while endearing, it was also a confirmation that the thing that just happened,  _ really _ just happened. 

 

“did you just kiss my brother?” oh, and  _ of course  _ chaewon had seen it, too.

 

“i, uhm…” even hoseok, who hyungwon knew to be calm, collected, and who always knew exactly what to say, was at a loss for words; allowing for a silence that grew more awkward with the second - and along with it, it felt as if the temperature was rising. they had to get out before someone was going to explode.

 

“teacher and hyungwon, sitting in a tree, k i s s–”

 

“c-chaewon! come on, time to go home.” hyungwon had moved from the couch and rushed over to chaewon's side in the blink of an eye, one arm hugging her to his waist, the other cupped over her mouth. hoseok wouldn't react much, only sparing hyungwon an uncertain smile as he nudged his younger sister towards the front door.

 

only when they were about to leave, did the daycare worker move from his spot, gripping tightly onto the door frame as he leaned out his upper body. “hyungwon!”

 

hyungwon halted, flinching as if he was just caught red-handed stealing from the cookie jar, his face pale as he hesitantly turned to look back at hoseok once more.

 

“i'll… see you again, next week, yes?”

 

thin shoulders dropped as hyungwon released his tension with a deep breath he wasn't aware of holding, some color quickly returning to his face as he smiled in a way that made his cheeks crease and puff out.

 

“of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what are cliffhangers? i seriously suck at ending chapters but hopefully you're still interested enough to come back for the next update ^^;;  
> anyway, thanks for reading and let me know what you think! kudos and comments really help keep me motivated. 
> 
> and of course i can't end this without a shameless self promotion so hey follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/hamsterhyung) or send me questions on [cc](https://curiouscat.me/hamsterhyung) if you want and have a great day <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hyungwon and changkyun have a bonding moment... sort of.

****

“we're running out of time, lucifer.” a bundle of flaming red curls reflected against the balcony window, along with the outline of a man, dressed in all black leather - his height identical to the man he faced, who was dressed in the infamous prada suit. they both held a glass of whiskey, conversing underneath the fresh breeze of a bright moonlit night.

“gabriel has found michael already. it won't be long until you're next.” 

the man in suit clenched his fingers tightly around his glass. with ease, it shattered, and the broken pieces fell to the balcony floor. “such a nuisance…” he muttered, plucking a piece of glass from the palm of his hand and flicking it off, into the air - without shedding a single drop of blood.

“but– thank you, mazikeen. you may leave now.”

the red-haired male remained positioned, eyes locked onto the shadow in front of him, calmly taking a sip from his drink. he didn't seem to be planning on leaving anytime soon, as mazikeen then crossed his arms over his chest - carefully, not to knock his beloved whiskey from his hand in the process.

“that's it?  _ thank you, you may leave _ ? i'm here trying my hardest to clean up after the mess  _ you  _ created, while you sit on your lazy ass, following after some stupid mortal like a pathetic little puppy.”

mazikeen's voice was monotone, seemingly emotionless, though the sneer and distaste was obvious to lucifer - who merely muffled a laugh behind a closed hand, then turned to lean forward against the railing, looking up at the starry sky. “come on, ki, i only came down here to keep michael safe fro–”

“oh shut it, don't give me that guardian angel bullshit.” mazikeen hissed, nudging lucifer by the shoulder for him to face the redhead, inching their faces awfully close. “we both know you don't give a shit about your family. you're lucifer, for fuck's sake - a name you always carried with pride. but one silly human comes by and you change it to- to… what the fuck kind of name is changkyun, anyway?”

“now, now. no need to ridicule me for my new identity.” with a simple push, lucifer held hell's most powerful torturer at a proper distance. he inhaled sharply through his nose, fixing the crooked collar of his button-up before exhaling - a sharp gaze then falling back to mazikeen, who knew better than to move a muscle right now - though that didn't mean he wasn't thinking of throwing a punch.

“and also; you don't question my intentions, little demon. you were forged to protect me and take my orders - and that is exactly what you're going to keep doing for the remainder of your life. nothing more, nothing less. understood?”

mazikeen simply nodded, and lucifer quickly returned to his usual cocky and cheerful self.

“wonderful! now,” from the inner pocket of his blazer, lucifer retrieved an identification card, holding it out for mazikeen to take. “you shall make sure gabriel doesn't come near michael again, and if you happen to have to mingle with mortals, this is your human identity.”

mazikeen rolled his eyes as he snatched the card from lucifer's hand, storing it in the pocket of his leather jacket before taking the last swig of his whiskey. then, within the blink of an eye, he disappeared, become one with the shadows of the night.

lucifer smiled as a puff of air brushed through his pitch black locks, looking up at the sky once more.

“don't worry,  _ kihyun _ . you'll come to like it here soon enough.”

///

when hyungwon returned from work early in the morning, something felt off. the front door was perfectly locked - and yet, as he stepped foot inside his apartment, it felt as if an unknown presence had invaded it. 

as he toed off his shoes and flicked the lightswitch on, bottles of whiskey and empty shot glasses came into sight, scattered across the open kitchen counter and the coffee table. it seemed like the remnants of a college party inside the living room - which wouldn’t be all that strange for someone hyungwon’s age, hadn’t it been for the fact that he didn’t drink.

taking a few steps further in, hyungwon noticed the balcony door stood ajar as a chilling breeze caused for his shoulders to shudder. with his arms folded and hands attempting to rub some heat into himself, he rushed over, then reaching out to close the door, but as the twenty-three year old set one foot outside to reach for the door handle, something sharp pierced through his sock and lodged into his heel.

“mother of—,” hyungwon inhaled sharply and firmly bit down his bottom lip as he backed up on one leg, hopping towards the couch where he sat himself down. a pitiful whine escaped as he tugged up his injured foot to rest on his knee and inspected a piece of glass that stuck out of it.

****  
  


“why the commotion so early in the morning..?” a deep voice croaked from the hallway and immediately, everything made sense to hyungwon. he had nearly forgotten about his new roommate, and this was his punishment for it - changkyun throwing a party while hyungwon was at work, and  _ he _ ends up getting hurt from it.

“do you always leave behind such a mess?” hyungwon's voice was whinier than he intended, though it was hard not to be when he was puffing out his cheeks and pouting like a sulking child. he attempted to pluck out the piece of glass once, but after a single touch sparked his nerves, he'd given up.

changkyun snorted lazily as he slowly approached the couch. “quite a few seem to question that, mortal and immortals alike.” he noted as he took a seat by hyungwon's side, heavy-lidded eyes gazing at the shiny piece lodged within a white sock, the fabric surrounding the glass, stained with minimum blood. it was far from as horrendous as hyungwon's actions may have made it seem, and with a single back and forth movement of his hand, changkyun had pulled out the shard.

“there, mess cleaned up.” changkyun proudly held up the glass like some kind of trophy, flashing the widest of smiles he could manage this early in the morning. however, hyungwon was far from amused - incredibly squeamish as he peeled off his sock from his foot and magically tried to stop the little puncture wound from bleeding without having to touch it.

“don't just sit there, get me a bandaid!” hyungwon complained, nose scrunching up along with the childishly offended pout on his lips. changkyun just sat there for a moment, dumbfounded, before exclaiming a little ‘ _ ah _ ’ and he got up from the couch - only to freeze up again, unsure where to find what he was looking for.

“the bathroom!”

of course. because humans hid everything inside their bathroom, right? no, that was not right. if anything, changkyun had learned that humans hide their biggest secrets within the bedroom. then again, hyungwon wasn’t quite the ordinary human from what the devil had seen.

he successfully retrieved a small box of bandaids from the sink cabinet, even though it took a bit longer than such a simple task should take (but changkyun  _ definitely  _ knew what he was looking for). he returned to the pink haired damsel in distress, kneeling down in front of the couch with a deep sigh. “alright, now we shall finish this once and for all.”

changkyun quickly learned it was quite difficult to apply this intricate band of aid, without the outer flaps getting wrapped up around his index finger or thumb. nevertheless - after a couple of failed attempts and whiny sounds of discontent from hyungwon - he finally managed to cover up the little wound. 

with a huge sigh of relief, as if he had just saved a whole life, changkyun flopped back down on the couch, arms and legs unceremoniously spread with no consideration for his roommate whatsoever. hyungwon didn't seem to mind that much - or rather, was too busy sulking about his foot to show it.

silence settled between the two of them, and it would have remained there for quite a while, hadn't it been for hyungwon's shyly mumbled ‘ _ thank you _ ’ after a minute or two. it was still changkyun's fault he'd gotten hurt in the first place - but at least, mister rich kid was kind enough to take care of it. maybe, just maybe, changkyun really wasn't such a bad guy after all.

changkyun turned his head to look at hyungwon, a lazy smile worn on his lips - but despite the sleepiness, it wasn't lacking of the usual cockiness. hyungwon rolled his eyes, lips parting as he inhaled to prepare for a frustrated sigh - only for his breath to be caught in his throat as a handful of incredibly warm and surprisingly soft fingers, came to brush through the back of his hair.

the touch wasn't rough or painful, yet hyungwon completely tensed up, shoulders raised and head ducked down as if he'd just gotten a bucket of boiling hot water tossed down on him. something about changkyun's contact set off his inner alarm bells, the odd sensation in his stomach returning twice as strong.

it only took a second before changkyun pulled away, though it felt as if hyungwon's scalp had been exposed to the bare sun for days, burning and itching and sending warm tingles down his spine. strangely enough, however; it didn't actually hurt - in fact, when hyungwon reached up to touch the back of his head himself, it was a pleasant shiver his body responded with. some kind of bliss - satisfaction at its purest, starting at the head and trickling all the way down to his toes.

****  
  


“pardon me… i was curious about your hair.” changkyun's voice seemed distant for a moment, like he was standing at the other end of a tunnel, and hyungwon had to blink a few times - squeeze his eyes shut - before he properly returned to his senses, the flutter of his eyelashes innocent and pure and curious as he gazed at his roommate. 

“m-my hair?”

“i have seen blonde and brown - some cases of red, as well - though those looked to be about all the options humans have. so how come… yours is pink?” hyungwon expected changkyun to question him about his reaction to that touch, but instead, he was asked the silliest question he'd ever heard.

“haven't you heard of hair dye before?” hyungwon somehow managed to form a proper sentence in between little chuckles of amusement, visibly relaxing in the process. changkyun sat up, an eyebrow cocking up both in surprise and curiosity. “hair dye?”

“yes, hair dye. it's like paint - for your hair.” changkyun looked genuinely surprised with this revelation, looking off into the distance in thought whilst brushing his fingers through his own hair. a brief moment of silence passed before he turned back, facing hyungwon with narrowed eyes. “what is your original color, then?”

****  
  


for someone who looked and sounded perfectly korean (albeit with an old accent), changkyun certainly didn't seem to know a lot about the genetics… or the people, or the culture - he didn't seem to know much in general, though hyungwon naively passed it off to being raised in a foreign continent. 

****  
  


hyungwon pursed his lips, silently pointing up at his roommate's own pitch black locks of hair. changkyun tipped his head, questioningly gazing at the other male before he looked up as well, cracking a sudden laugh soon after. “as au naturale as it looks, this is not the color i was gifted with.”

“but - then… you dyed it?”

changkyun laughed again, confusing hyungwon even further. “not quite. you see, i can simply change the color of my hair with the snap of my fingers - though the snap is not actually required.” and the answer wasn't exactly clearing up any question marks either. if anything, it looked like changkyun was messing around again with the supernatural stuff, and hyungwon was quickly growing tired of it. it was about time he started getting ready for bed, anyway. 

not that changkyun would let him, as the new roommate began to frantically comb his fingers through his hair for a moment before eyeing hyungwon with oddly sincere anticipation. “eh?  _ eh _ ? how do i look?”

hyungwon wasn't sure exactly  _ what  _ he was expecting, but as he looked up at a bundle of ebony black hair, he still felt a hint of disappointment. with a sigh, he got up - careful not to lean on his wounded foot - and disappeared into his bedroom.

****  
  


changkyun cocked his head in confusion, getting up as well shortly after to make his way over to the bathroom. inhaling sharply, he curled his fingers around the edges of the sink, eyes shut as his head raised to meet the mirror…

but when the devil parted his eyelids, it was changkyun who was staring right back at him - not the red haired creature with burning eyes he was before his descent to earth. even a second attempt at morphing to his original (and much hated) angelic appearance, was a complete and utter failure. little changed but the color of changkyun's face as he held his breath for a bit too long.

he puffed out a deep sigh, brushing fingers through his hair once more as he leaned in to his reflection. nothing. no matter how hard he tried, nothing happened. no devil face, no flaming eyes, just the image of an ordinary human.

“what is happening to me?”

///

three days had passed since their last encounter - and three whole days it had been since hyungwon had last seen his roommate. when he'd woken up, changkyun was nowhere to be found - vanished, just like a couple days prior. however, this time, hyungwon was starting to feel a little worried, thinking he might've said or done something wrong to piss changkyun off, even if there was no reason whatsoever for him to feel guilty at all.

****  
  


“what's bothering you?” jooheon sat down at the coffee table in front of hyungwon, passing over the strawberry frappé he'd ordered. jooheon had called, distraught, asking for hyungwon to take him out to distract him from family trouble. no questions needed to be asked for hyungwon to know it was about his super conservative parents being in town, and jooheon needed an excuse to skip out of a family dinner with the dear lord and a potential future wife. 

hyungwon straightened his back, lowering the hand he'd rested his chin on, to the table to accept his cup. “nothing important.” he tried to shrug it off, not wanting to make this moment all about him when it was jooheon who had asked for help. not that jooheon would let any of that happen, as the younger shifted over to the seat beside hyungwon's, an arm tossed over petite shoulders.

“talk, wonnie.” jooheon's squeeze to hyungwon's shoulder was reassuring and it was impossible for the latter not to give in, a resigned sigh passing his lips. “it's just my roommate—”

“changkyun? what did he do? are you okay?” jooheon was quick to sit up, cupping hyungwon's face within his hands and inspecting his friend's features for any signs of trauma. the older cracked a smile, head shaking its way out of jooheon's gentle grasp.

  
“i'm fine, heoni. look - i admit he is incredibly weird, but he  _ really _ is a nice guy. that's why… i'm afraid i might have scared him off or something.”

jooheon sat back in his seat, lips pursed into a thin line. he was obviously still skeptical - though hyungwon couldn't blame him for it. it had only been just short of a week since changkyun's sudden appearance, after all. nonetheless, jooheon did seem to ease up a bit with him insisting the self-proclaimed devil wasn't all that bad.

“what happened?” the younger had taken his own coffee and slumped in his seat a bit, his more comfortable position telling hyungwon jooheon was willing to listen without any religious thoughts clouding his judgement - without seeing changkyun as some otherworldly creature with sinister plans, but purely as another human being.

“he broke a glass and i got hurt because of it, and i kind of yelled at him to help me,” it wasn't precisely what had happened, but that was what it felt like to hyungwon, who strongly regretted raising his voice when he called out where the bandaids were kept. “anyway - he took care of it, and we ended up talking about… appearances. then he started talking about his weird supernatural stuff again and i sorta just walked out. when i woke up in the afternoon, he was gone.”

when hyungwon raised his gaze from his fingers to meet jooheon's, he found his friend just staring at him for a moment, lips slightly parted with the straw of his drink pressed against his bottom lip. moments later, jooheon put down his drink with a chuckle, a proper laugh coming out after he'd leaned back in his seat. “oh, hyungwonnie, you're so innocent.” jooheon teased, grinning from ear to ear as he pinched the squishy cheeks hyungwon had puffed out in offense.

“with how weird and shady this guy is, i doubt he'd be scared off by his giant baby of a roommate.” and to top it all off, jooheon had the audacity to stick out his tongue after such an insult. giant baby? hyungwon was a full grown adult, and the pout he wore on his lips could definitely convince anyone of that fact.

“shut up.” hyungwon muttered in retaliation, his sulking pout still very much evident even as he took an angry sip from his pink drink. jooheon simply grinned proudly, satisfied with the state he'd put his best friend into. reaching over, he gave hyungwon's hair a last, playful tousle before leaning back again with his drink in hand. “seriously, if anything, i'm surprised this guy hasn't sent  _ you  _ running off in fear yet. you're such a scaredy cat.”

hyungwon scrunched up his nose, shooting jooheon a glare over the mountain of whipped cream atop his frappé. “i'm not a scaredy cat,” he groaned, setting down his drink in order to properly face the other. “but… honestly? i don't know - he's weird and all, but there's something about him…”

jooheon was listening silently, though it was written all over his face that he was surprised about the direction in which this conversation was going - and so was hyungwon, honestly.

“i can't really explain it, but - i have this strong sense of attraction towards him…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not much has happened yet, i'm aware. but i suggest you enjoy the silent before the storm ;)  
> as always; thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed, and let me know what you think so far!   
> and follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/hamsterhyung) if you want to <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hyungwon goes on a date!

a date?!

 

hyungwon sat up straight in his bed, one hand rubbing the sleep from his eyes while the other clutched onto his phone. the display faded to black shortly before he gave it a shake and a notification popped up on the homescreen.

  


**3 NEW MESSAGES:** **  
** **TEACHER HOSEOK**  

> good morning mister chae. i hope you slept well. _(08:11)  
> _ i just heard i don't have to work today, so i was wondering… _(08:12)  
> _ would you like to go on a lunch date with me?   _(08:20)_

  


a harsh pinch to the cheek told hyungwon he wasn't still sleeping - and unless he had started hallucinating all of a sudden, his phone was really telling him hoseok was asking him out on a date.

 

“oh my god—,” he exclaimed when realization finally dawned upon him. hoseok - hyungwon's first (and only) crush since the first day he'd come to pick up chaewon from the daycare - was _asking him out_.

 

“what brings father into mind this early in the morning?” changkyun announced himself as he pushed his body through the bedroom door, holding a tray of breakfast in his hands; eggs and bacon. what a pleasant revelation of his return… sort of.

 

“i..,” hyungwon looked up from his phone, his expression filled with pure surprise. “i got asked out… on a date.”

 

changkyun responded with a cock of his eyebrow, making his way and settling onto the edge of hyungwon's bed - who, for some reason, naturally moved aside to make space without question, despite the fact that he hadn't seen his roommate in four days. as if all was good with something as simple as making him breakfast in the morning.

 

“so our aphrodite has found her ares, is it?” changkyun questioned with that usual smugness, setting the tray onto the bed, right in front of hyungwon's crossed legs. the pink haired male shot a look of confusion, to which changkyun replied with a chimed ‘ _ah’_ as he sat up straight. “are they more like a hephaestus? you know, ugly and unattractive but you remain by their side out of pure pity-”

 

hyungwon's lack of response and rapid blinking of his eyes finally seemed to deliver its message as changkyun cut himself off and briefly scratched at his temple. “your lack of knowledge on gods and goddesses is really something…” he sighed and moved the tray onto hyungwon's lap instead. “here, eat up. i can't allow you to go running around on dates on an empty stomach.”

 

///

 

it was precisely twelve-thirty in the afternoon - the exact time they had agreed to meet - when hyungwon stepped inside the restaurant. he was obviously nervous, fiddling with the hem of a white, oversized blouse that changkyun insisted on having him wear, even when there was too much fabric to stuff into the waistband of his pants without it looking weird. changkyun had 'fixed’ it with letting half of the hem hang out and accessorising the tucked in part with a chained belt underneath. “it's what the cool kids are wearing nowadays,” he'd said in an attempt at reassurance, though hyungwon just felt like a little kid swallowed within his parent's clothing.

 

at least it wasn't hard to find hoseok, who was sitting at a table near the entrance, needing no more than a simple wave to catch hyungwon's attention and call him over. with a shy smile, hyungwon took a seat opposite of his date, muttering a soft 'hi’ as he tugged at his blouse, then swiped down the creases - only to get back to fiddling with the hem underneath the table.

 

“i'm glad you could make it,” hoseok started, a hint of that sweet, kittenish smile spotted from underneath hyungwon's bangs as the younger kept his head hung low, too nervous to make eye contact. “you look amazing, by the way.”

 

no matter how weird changkyun was; apparently he did have a good sense of fashion - and at that moment, hyungwon was extremely glad he decided to listen to his roommate for once.

 

“thank you…” hyungwon wasn't looking, but he could _hear_ that smile widen across hoseok's lips and it made his heart beat faster, as well as darken the color of his cheeks.

 

just then a waitress came over with a tray of food, setting a plate of sweet and spicy shrimp down in front of hyungwon and japchae for hoseok, along with two bowls of rice. for hyungwon, it was the perfect dish - only he hasn’t ordered yet, and these types of food were a tad bit expensive for a college dropout to afford.

 

“chaewon told me… you fancy shrimp quite much.” hoseok revealed in a cheeky manner as he reached for a pair of chopsticks and broke them apart, swiping off any potential splinters before he handed them over to hyungwon - who briefly stared in disbelief, unable to fathom while simultaneously flattered that someone would go out of their way to set this up for him. this couldn’t possibly real; hoseok was too good to be true.

 

but just in case this was all a dream, hyungwon wasn’t going to risk wasting his time until he woke up. he managed a sweet smile as he accepted the chopsticks with a gentle ‘thank you’, the corners of his mouth only tugging up further as he averted his gaze down to his plate and the fresh scent of spicy, stir-fried shrimp trickled up his nostrils.

 

“you’re free to eat as much as you desire, i’ll be paying.” hoseok added hyungwon halted halfway into taking the first bite, eyeing the daycare worker once more. for a moment, an odd thought came to mind - though it was gone before he could ask, and with a cheerful smile, hyungwon munched away at the first shrimp.

  


aside from the usual greetings at the daycare and the ‘thank you’s at church whenever chaewon had been picked up, hyungwon and hoseok didn’t really interact much. they had even been phone contacts for months, but never called or texted until this morning - so it was quite surprising for hyungwon to learn that hoseok liked to talk a _lot_ ; about his job, the kids, the gorgeous backyard of his house, his golden retriever puppy named sam and how it was named after someone really special to him.

 

that’s where the air grew a bit heavy and hyungwon didn’t dare to ask any further, switching the topic to something lighter - a question that had been laying on the tip of his tongue; “have you traveled before?”

 

hoseok seemed surprised, but as that expression faded, his smile returned - wider than ever - and he nodded his head after stuffing his mouth with a spoonful of rice.

 

“europe,” he started after swallowing, “i lived in england for a while - three years, i believe. then i traveled to france, austria and lithuania, before i settled in romania for two more years.” it was absolutely adorable how hoseok lit up speaking about his travels, and it seemed to explain quite well how he'd become such a warm-hearted and well-mannered man.

 

perhaps it was also the reason for his slight accent— hyungwon had noticed it earlier and thought it sounded quite familiar, but he hadn't been able to place it until hoseok revealed having lived elsewhere.

 

“are you… able to speak those languages, too?” hyungwon had begun to ease up more, and he was genuinely interested in what hoseok had to say. he laid his chopsticks aside and scooted closer to the table for him to rests his elbows on the top and rest his chin atop intertwined fingers.

 

hoseok leaned back, glancing up for a moment as he hummed in thought. “... da, știu română, und ein bisschen deutsch, as well as english, of course.”

 

hyungwon leaned back in turn, flabbergasted and confused. he understood the word ‘english’, but that was about everything he got from whatever hoseok had just told him. the other male was grinning from ear to ear, trying to withhold his laughter, though it leaked through as he explained; “i said yes, i know romanian, some german, and english as well.”

 

hoseok was… impressive, to say the least, and hyungwon was eager to learn more, his tongue itching with questions to ask - but was interrupted by the arrival of their waitress, asking if they had decided on their second course yet.

 

“two servings of pork belly, please - one spicy - and the usual side dishes.” hoseok didn't hesitate to order another one of the more expensive dishes, and from the anticipating look he gave hyungwon afterwards, it seemed he was expecting his date to do the same thing.

 

hyungwon's eyes shifted back and forth between hoseok and the waitress, briefly panicking when he was given the option to order anything. “u-uh,” he swallowed, settling his gaze on the waitress with confidence he didn't possess. “p-pancakes, please…”

 

“oh, and might we have a water refill?” hoseok added quickly after, to which the waitress nodded as she wrote down their order. “thank you kindly.”

 

///

 

they had spend a good two hours inside the restaurant - talking mainly about the mutual struggles of taking care of chaewon - before hyungwon convinced hoseok on letting him buy them ice cream so that hoseok wouldn't have to pay for everything. only the problem was that hyungwon didn't have the cash to pay for restaurant-exclusive dessert, so they had decided to go for a stroll and hopefully find a ice cream parlor along the way.

 

a thirty minute walk took them through a regional park, where hoseok became distracted upon the sight of a bunch of dogs playing on the grass fields. conveniently enough, there also happened to be an ice cream stand nearby, and hyungwon decided on getting his hand on two cones while hoseok was petting some furry heads.

 

upon return, his date still seemed to be a bit busy - now rolling around with the pups - so hyungwon settled peacefully onto one of the nearby benches, two cones of italian strawberry ice cream in hand. hoseok returned not too long after, a beautifully wide and innocently cheerful smile worn on his lips as he locked gazes with his date and settled onto the bench, beside hyungwon, with a content sigh. it seemed like playtime with the puppies had worn him out quite a bit, and hyungwon offered the ice cream as if it were some kind of rewarding treat.  

 

hyungwon sat quietly, simply enjoying his company and the sweet strawberry taste of his ice cream. today was a good day - a ray of light at the end of the dark tunnel he had been walking through. and all thanks to hoseok - who shifted closer over the span of a minute, slowly and carefully sliding his fingers over hyungwon's and intertwining them.

 

hyungwon's heart skipped a beat, his head shifting to look at hoseok with wide, shocked eyes. even if this was a date, the younger hadn't imagined anything special to happen - maybe a whole hug before exchanging goodbyes, but not _this_ \- in public, of all places.

 

“is it… is it okay?” hoseok seemed to have noticed the surprise in hyungwon's expression, a worried frown tugging at his eyebrows - which faded when hyungwon nodded silently, a relieved smile taking its place.

 

hoseok then leaned back, giving his date's hand a gentle squeeze as he took the first lick of his own ice cream. only somewhere in the middle of the action, he froze up. it was quite a comedic sight, and hyungwon initially chuckled in response until he noticed the growing concern washing over hoseok's expression, gaze shifting to discover just what had caught his attention.

  


and of course, of _course_ it had to be changkyun whose sight hyungwon was met with, not so secretly keeping an eye on the couple along with a stranger of similar height and—

 

red hair. flaming red hair.

 

pitch black eyes stared back at hyungwon as his gaze had shifted to the stranger - dark and empty eyes, scrutinizing him, peeling through his skin and ripping out his soul. hyungwon quickly ripped away from the penetrating stare to look back at hoseok, who was looking at him with this attempt of a reassuring smile, but something told hyungwon it was hoseok who needed the reassurance.

 

“excuse me, my roommate must have come to check up on me.” hyungwon got up with a sigh, ready to walk over and send changkyun and his… that other person, on their merry way - but hoseok suddenly tightened the hold on hyungwon's hand before he could pull away. “you know them?”

 

“yeah. mister rich kid, at least. he just recently moved in with me.” hoseok had worn an inexplicable expression before, though it faded into an amused smile at the mention of the 'rich kid’. albeit hesitant, he slowly loosened his hold, and hyungwon headed over to where changkyun was standing.

  


his roommate was waving with such irritating innocence, daring to show that cocky grin as if hyungwon hadn't just caught changkyun stalking him on his date. “what are you doing here?” hyungwon was considerably annoyed, but that definitely didn't show in his voice. he barely managed to stop it from wavering with the red haired male standing beside him, swallowing thickly as he could feel those ebony eyes aimed towards him.

 

“ki,” with one single syllable, the stranger turned away and hyungwon finally exhaled a deep breath he wasn't aware of holding in the first place. changkyun then tiptoed to glance over a taller shoulder, towards hoseok, who silently watched them from the bench. “we so happened to pass by.” he answered as he set both heels back to the ground and flashed hyungwon another one of those shit-eating grins again. “so he was an hephaestus all along, i see.”

 

“what?” did changkyun just insult his date? “no- i- could you please just… go somewhere else? hoseok and i don't really appreciate being stared at.” hyungwon spoke quickly, hands curled into tight fists out of a nervous habit - though he couldn't deny growing more irritated.

 

changkyun only seemed to grow more entertained, nodding his head slowly to hyungwon's words. “so his name is hoseok? interesting. is he planning on introducing you to his family, yet?” his roommate was being absolutely ridiculous, and hyungwon had lost his patience - heaving out a sigh, he turned around and headed back to the bench.

 

“you really trust him with that guy?” the red haired male made his return shortly after, arms crossed over his chest and judgingly gazing in the direction of the couple. changkyun shrugged nonchalantly, his gaze sternly focused on hyungwon. “he seems harmless, for now.”

 

the next time hyungwon turned to look, both changkyun and his stranger friend were gone.

  


“i'm so sorry for that.” hyungwon mumbled apologetically as he sat back down. perhaps jooheon had been right; maybe changkyun wasn't such a good guy after all. he hadn't done anything harmful, but it was admittedly kind of creepy to ‘coincidentally’ show up on someone else's date - especially when hyungwon hadn't told him where they were going.

 

“he appears to be quite protective of you.” hoseok noted - something that took hyungwon by complete surprise. when and how did he possibly come to such a conclusion? but moreover, it seemed to bother hoseok enough for his expression to turn somber.

 

“n-no, he's not! he's just… a bit weird.” hyungwon tried to lighten the mood, offer a laugh, but he only received a forced chuckle in return. even worse; hoseok wiped his hands clean of ice cream on his pants before he got up, facing hyungwon with an apologetic smile that absolutely broke his heart.

 

“i’m aware an apology won’t make this better, but i'm afraid i'll have to leave.” and then he stomped on the broken pieces, like hyungwon wasn't in enough pain already. “thank you for the date, though. i enjoyed it.”

 

hyungwon just sat there as hoseok slowly walked away, unable to process what the hell had just happened - all he could understand was that he'd just been ditched on his very first date and his heart was shattered. and all that just because— because of…

 

changkyun?

 

no - changkyun may have turned up uninvited and caused a moment of awkwardness, but nothing he said or did gave reason enough for hoseok to have reacted the way he did - at least, hyungwon didn't see any.

 

in whatever way he tried to look at it, hyungwon couldn't come to a sensible conclusion. it had seemed like in some twisted kind of fate, he was punished for getting his hopes up - for having a genuine moment of happiness. he wasn't worthy of this—

 

it was just like he'd thought; hoseok was simply too good to be true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit of a shorter chapter, but i hope you enjoyed nonetheless c:  
> i mean, you better be, cause things are gonne be not-so-enjoyable soon hehehehhe


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> heartbreaks and alcohol get along really well.   
> what happens afterwards, however...

“one shot of your strongest liquor, please.” hyungwon sat down at the bar, slumped over the tabletop with his fingers threaded through the hair by his temples. a familiar set of dark brown eyes looked back at him, messy blonde hair pushed back with a supreme headband. “you don't drink.” minhyuk deadpanned, briefly turning away to get a glass of water filled up, which he passed over to his friend afterwards.

 

hyungwon groaned in resignation - not even bothering to start a fight he knew he wasn’t going to win - and he chugged down his glass of water in three whole gulps. 

 

“what’s going on sweetie?” minhyuk had come to lean onto the bar after helping another customer, chin resting on the palm of his hand as he eyed hyungwon with curious concern. hyungwon scrunched up his nose as he glanced around the club first, not exactly comfortable with his surroundings - but he needed a friend right now and jooheon was out with his family, which only left minhyuk as a viable option - even if it was at work. 

 

not that minhyuk minded - hyungwon wouldn’t have come if he did. however, after years hearing him repeat the whole ‘if  _ anything _ ever happens, you can  _ always _ come to me, no matter what, even while i’m at work’, hyungwon finally decided to take him up on the offer.

 

“i had a date…” hyungwon started - and that was all it took for minhyuk to lean back in horror, a hand pressed against his chest. “oh. oh no…” seconds later, the blonde was preparing a cocktail - something fancy and pink with a parasol that looked cute and definitely did its job on bringing a smile to hyungwon’s face, even if it was brief. “here, you definitely need it.”

 

hyungwon eyed the drink suspiciously for a bit, before he took a small sip. immediately, his whole face wrinkled up, eyes squeezed shut as his nose scrunched at the bitter taste and the burning sensation in his throat. minhyuk simply laughed, patting his friend on the shoulder. “it'll get better after the second sip.”

 

and it did. hyungwon took two more slow sips - the final tasting a lot better than the first - before he set his glass back down. “i mean, it's probably not that big of a deal. you guys say i tend to overreact, so-”

 

with a single click of his tongue, minhyuk cut hyungwon off - leaning in as he shook his head, taking a hold of the younger's hands. “if you're upset, you're upset, period. no matter if it's something big or small - you shouldn't be hurt by your date on that special day. now tell me her name so i can whoop her ass— i mean, inform her she just missed out on the most amazing guy ever.”

 

_ her _ . the particular pronoun had hyungwon chuckle bitterly. for a moment, he’d forgotten that neither of his friends - in fact, no one but chaewon - was aware of his sexuality. it was no one’s fault but his own, really. if he hadn't been so childishly salty about his best friends ending up together in high school, hyungwon probably would've mentioned it back then. 

 

but he didn't - and as time passed and the trio grew older, the topic of dating was dropped altogether when adult responsibilities became their number one priority. 

 

hyungwon puffed out his cheeks shortly before he took another sip from his alcoholic beverage, its bitterness yet again causing him to scrunch up his nose. 

 

“hoseok,” hyungwon then started, reluctant, but aware he had nothing to be ashamed of. minhyuk and jooheon were the last to judge him for his preference - though that didn’t mean he wasn’t a little scared to come out. “my date - it was hoseok.”

 

minhyuk was momentarily stunned, but not surprised, and seconds later he was leaning in with his eyes narrowed. “teacher hoseok?”

 

hyungwon nodded slowly, the bitter taste turning to sadness as it trickled down his throat - and he quickly took another sip to wash it down.

 

plenty of questions were hidden behind the glinting of minhyuk’s eyes, but he was considerate enough not to ask them - not yet, at least. instead, the blonde turned to prepare hyungwon another cocktail as the first was nearing the bottom of the glass. “he’d be the last guy i could imagine to hurt someone.” minhyuk responded as he passed over the second serving, propping his elbow onto the bar to rest his chin on the palm of his hand once more.

 

“exactly!” hyungwon exclaimed as he dramatically put down his now-empty glass and immediately began to chug down the second cocktail. it was a gesture out of pure frustration - though it wouldn’t take long for the alcohol to start affecting him. halfway down his glass, hyungwon placed it aside and with a heavy sigh, he threaded his fingers through his hair again. “maybe… if changkyun hadn’t shown up…”

 

“wait— your  _ roommate _ showed up at your date?” minhyuk - who had been extremely enthusiastic about hyungwon’s new roommate - suddenly wore the exact same expression of concern as jooheon did when changkyun was introduced. 

 

“i know how it sounds,” hyungwon sighed, sneaking a glance in minhyuk’s direction before he looked down with a confused frown tugging at his eyebrows. “but even if he wasn’t ‘just passing by’, he really didn’t do anything, actually - and he left immediately after i asked him to.” after all that thinking, it still didn’t make any sense to hyungwon. 

 

minhyuk leaned back, thoughtfully scratching at his chin as he hummed, seemingly just as confused. “what did hoseok do?”

 

“he-,” there was that heart-wrenching feeling again as hyungwon recalled the pained look on hoseok’s face just before he walked away. “he looked all sad when i came back..,” the cocktail was taken in hand once again, and with one chug, hyungwon downed the half that was left. “he said that… that changkyun looked protective or something - which i don’t understand, like, how he came to that conclusion. but it was apparently reason enough for him to just— up and leave. oh, but he thanked me for the date - so i guess i should be happy.”

 

hyungwon sighed again, letting himself slump over the bar in defeat, face pressed against the tabletop. his head was beginning to tingle - and it wasn’t a pleasant one.

 

minhyuk’s fingers found their way through pink locks, delicately brushing through in a soothing manner. “could it be that they know each other?” his voice was as soft and caring as it could be over the loud music, and hyungwon slowly raised his head to look at his friend, lips jutted into a pout. “i don’t know - i don’t think so…”

 

neither hoseok or changkyun had mentioned knowing each other - but there also hadn’t exactly been a reason for either to tell hyungwon that. plus, them being acquainted was about all that made sense in the given situation. 

 

“well- try to ask one of them. maybe it was just a misunderstanding - an issue between the two of them which you accidentally got tangled up in.” there was a reason as to why jooheon and hyungwon called minhyuk the leader of their little group - and this was exactly why. he could be annoying, childish, and hyperactive like a little puppy - but he was smart (due to life experience – education was.. lacking. seriously, don’t ask him what eight times twelve is), and always there to help a friend in need.

 

hyungwon slowly sat back up as hope was regained and he gave minhyuk a confident nod, to which he received a relieved smile in return. “want another one?” minhyuk had returned to his usual stance, nudging his chin towards the empty cocktail glass. hyungwon shook his head, “i barely have any cash on me.”

 

“it's on the house.”

 

“well,” hyungwon hummed thoughtfully, intertwining his fingers as he laid his hands on top of the bar. “in that case, make it two.”

 

///

 

perhaps he shouldn't have, because one hour and four empty glasses later, hyungwon was feeling things he'd never felt before - and not in a good way. his head felt extremely light, and when he tried to get off his chair to go to the restroom, he only barely managed to keep himself up straight. 

 

at least the splash of water in his face sobered him up enough to make the trip back to the bar, but there was no way hyungwon was going to make it home safely all by himself - and minhyuk still had to work for four more hours, so he couldn't accompany him either.

 

almost,  _ almost _ did hyungwon reach his chair unscathed, but he was abruptly halted in his tracks by a broad and hard, yet strangely soft object - or rather, a human, he realized as his hands cupped over defined pecs and the blurred image of a face appeared as he looked up. staring back at hyungwon was a tanned man with broad shoulders, small but thick lips, the perfect shape of a nose and a pair of eyes so gentle they reminded him of a teddy bear. they were sparkling, too - a variety of colors under the flashy neon lights, though the underlying color was hard to point out.

 

“wow,” hyungwon gasped softly, getting back straight onto his feet through the use of this stranger's large figure. once balance was regained, he gave the man's chest a couple of appreciative pats - a wide, drunk smile curled onto his lips. “my sincerest apologies for that, you… handsome man.”

 

“are you alright?” the man seemed completely unfazed by hyungwon's behavior, large hands coming to hold onto thin arms so delicately hyungwon felt as if he was as weak as paper all of a sudden - he was  _ melting _ from the touch, swallowing thickly as he nodded oh so slowly.

 

the song blasting in the background, came to an end, and the lighting in the venue switched to a simple white for just a moment - however, in that split second, hyungwon caught a glimpse of those stunning eyes. they were gold and glistening, a whole source of light on its own, and they strongly reminded hyungwon of something - some _ one _ .

 

hyungwon's head tilted, eyebrows knitted in thought as he was carefully turned and guided back onto his seat - and just as he was sat down, it hit him. “ _ you _ … you bumped into me, at the church!” he exclaimed, unceremoniously leaning against the bar as he pointed up at mister handsome stranger. hyungwon's gaze was returned with an apologetic look - one of awareness; the damn guy knew  _ exactly _ who hyungwon was and what he'd done to him, yet he didn't even bother to voice a simple sorry?!

 

but hyungwon couldn't be mad about that - as drunk as he was - not with those gentle puppy eyes that reminded him of his little sister. it was probably the odd color.

 

“is there a problem, gentlemen?” minhyuk had returned to hyungwon's end of the bar, his eyes narrowed towards the large man. they were of the same height, but the muscles clearly intimidated the blonde. 

 

“my apologies, i bumped into your friend here when he returned from the restroom.” the stranger responded as if there was nothing wrong - but there was. a lot, in fact. first of all; he wasn't just incredibly handsome, but also had the voice of an angel - so soft and mellow it sent a tingle down hyungwon's spine. and second of all— wait, how did he know minhyuk was hyungwon's friend? and why was he with hoseok a few days ago? and—

 

“ah, of course, thank you for bringing him back.” minhyuk's voice did a whole three-sixty— not just his voice - no - his whole behavior changed upon a split second of eye contact with mister handsome, and hyungwon clumsily turned in his seat to shoot his friend a look of displeasure. sure, the guy was good-looking and all - but that was more of a sin rather than something to be forgiven so easily.

 

with his cheeks puffed and eyelids drooped, hyungwon turned back again to point a finger up at the big guy. “who… are you.., anyway?”

 

the man hesitated for some reason, his eyes silently glancing down hyungwon’s figure - which caused for another weirdly pleasant tingle to trickle down the drunk boy’s spine. 

 

“hyunwoo.” the stranger finally responded - and for a second, hyungwon could swear the guy’s eye color changed — probably the lighting. “listen, i must war—“

 

“hey hot stuff, wanna dance with us?” suddenly, two girls emerged from the crowd and clung to either one of hyunwoo’s sides, caressing the man’s chest and exchanging suggestive looks which made hyungwon want to gag. hyunwoo actually didn’t seem to be so happy with the attention either, though he didn’t resist as the ladies dragged him along. 

 

hyungwon scoffed, turning on his stool to face the bar as properly as he could manage with how he was permanently swaying a bit. an elbow was propped up, and he squished a cheek within the palm of his hand, nose scrunched up in distaste. “pda. blegh.”

 

minhyuk blinked for a moment as he watched hyunwoo disappear - then snorted, passing his friend a glass of water to help sober him up. “there really isn't anyone i can call to come pick you up?”

  
  


“i'll take him home.” the bar stool by hyungwon's right, had been empty up until seconds ago. now, however, a young man had made his way onto the seat. his eyes were dark and empty - even with the neon lights flashing - when a sharp gaze settled onto hyungwon, scrutinizing— no,  _ judging _ him. hyungwon didn't need to look up at flaming red hair to know exactly who it was, both him and minhyuk leaning back in suspicion. 

 

“you're-,” minhyuk started, and the redhead cut him off with a simple roll of his eyes, “yes, i'm the guy from last week. i'm sure you told hyungwon all about me.”

 

hyungwon perked up in his seat, eyes wide with surprise. he wasn't that shocked about the male knowing his name - changkyun could've told him earlier when they ran into each other during the date - but it was the way in which he dropped it as if they were acquainted. hyungwon had absolutely no idea who this guy was - only knew him to be creepy, in all honesty - yet he, a complete stranger, was insisting on taking home a drunk man.

 

“i don't know you.” hyungwon said quickly, already turning away from the red-haired male - but he was halted as the backrest of his stool was grabbed and the stranger sighed heavily. “look, luci— i mean, changkyun send me out to look for you. said he was worried - and as weird as that is, i ain't leaving until i get you home safely.”

 

changkyun? worried? those two certainly did not fit in the same sentence. it wasn't just weird - it didn't make any sense. but then again, nothing really made sense to hyungwon at the moment - and he kind of liked the idea of someone other than his two close friends, caring about him for once. a shy little grin curled onto his lips - which faded almost immediately when minhyuk took a gentle, protective hold of hyungwon's wrist.

 

“he said he doesn't know you.” minhyuk had screwed up once, so now he was trying to make up for it - something hyungwon truly appreciated, but he had already made up his mind (alcohol was quite helpful in decision making - in other words; poor life choices). with a soft pat, he dismissed minhyuk's hand and offered him a reassuring nod, along with a drunk smile.

 

hyungwon got up from his seat, taking a moment to wipe out the creases in his blouse before pulling the tucked-in hem from his pants, the rubbing of fabric against skin having grown unbearable after a full stomach and an intoxicated mindset. “okay,” he heaved out, unsteadily swaying back and forth on his feet as he stood with one arm reaching out for the red-haired stranger. “take me away.”

 

it wasn't just minhyuk who was surprised with this outcome - so was the other guy, hesitantly getting up from his chair and even more reluctant to take hyungwon's arm over his shoulder to support the drunk guy. though, soon enough, they were heading for the exit with minhyuk faintly shouting in the background for a text when they'd get home.

  
  


contradicting the cold look in his eyes, this guy had an insane amount of body heat, hyungwon noted. it was kind of luring him in, more and more weight beginning to rest upon the smaller male's frame - until he decided it was enough and jerked hyungwon up straight with a frustrated groan. “hey, i'm not some pillow you can rest on. walk by your damn self.” he hissed, and if it hadn't been for the alcohol, hyungwon probably would've been a bit scared.

 

but hyungwon was drunk, grinning from ear to ear and reaching out to pinch one of the other male's cheeks - only to have his hand slapped away and with a pout worn on his lips, they continued their walk towards the stranger's car.

 

“it's kihyun, by the way.” the redhead spoke as he skillfully held hyungwon by the waist with one arm and unlocked the car with the other, opening the door with surprising ease.

 

“what?” hyungwon blinked up at the other male as he was sat down on the passenger's seat. the guy rolled his eyes again, sighing so loud hyungwon was certain his lungs just completely deflated - as he leaned in to help buckle the seatbelt.

 

“my name. it's kihyun.”

 

“ah,” hyungwon simply responded with, watching with genuine interest how kihyun walked around the car and got himself into the driver's seat. “so you're a friend of changkyun?”

 

kihyun chuckled bemusedly, fitting the key into the ignition to get the motor running. “more like an assistant… errand boy… and personal bodyguard.”

 

hyungwon's eyes narrowed, “why would he need an… assisting errand bodyguard?” he questioned just before his eyelids came to a close, elbow propped onto the armrest with his chin resting on the palm of his hand, slowly beginning to doze off.

 

kihyun sighed his nth sigh of that night, clearly displeased with all the questions, yet he answered them anyway. “he kinda owns this, uhh… big corporation, which-” he was interrupted by the softest of snores, causing him turn his head towards his passenger.

 

hyungwon was already long gone, drifted into a deep slumber. his lips were slightly parted and puffy and his cheeks permanently stained with a pink blush.

 

and right there, kihyun had to admit; hyungwon was kind of cute.

 

///

 

when hyungwon woke up the next morning, his head was aching and his throat felt incredibly sore. it didn't take more than two seconds of an attempt at sitting up, for him to fully regret everything about last night - and at the third second, he'd sworn never to drink again.

 

after successfully pushing himself to sit up against his pillow, hyungwon took a moment to breathe, then reached for his nightstand to grab his phone in order to let minhyuk know he was safe and sound - something he had completely forgotten about when he came home last night and practically crashed the second his body met the mattress of his bed.

 

he prepared for his headache to worsen as he turned on the device, though hyungwon lost all sense of reality and pain as soon as the screen lit up along with four rather concerning messages;

 

**4 NEW MESSAGES:** **  
** **HEONEYBEE**

> are you with minhyuk??? he hasn't come home yet  _ (06:01)  
>  _ wonnie seriously… is he with you? his phone is off i can't reach him  _ (07:20)  
>  _ he's not at your place is he?  _ (07:30)  
>  _ hyungwon please i'm freaking the fuck out  __ (08:03)

 

hyungwon quickly opened up his messenger and typed up a response with shaky fingers.

 

**TO: HEONEYBEE**

> he's not with me no....  ( _ 09:26 _ )

 

a dreadful minute passed before hyungwon's phone vibrated.

 

**FROM: HEONEYBEE**

> fuck  _ (09:27)  
>  _ minhyuk is fucking missing  _ (09:28) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woopsie. that just happened. but hey, one positive thing; everybody friggin loves hyungwon :DD hahaaaa anyways i hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it and let me know what you think! the comments really help to keep me going. thank you as always and hopefully i'll see you around for the next chapter~


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> with minhyuk's disappearance, a lot of secrets begin to surface...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanna apologize beforehand for how rushed the beginning of the chapter is, i was really lacking motivation in the first scenes and it shows ><

hyungwon had never gotten out of bed and fully dressed to go out as fast as he did that morning, even with his head throbbing at every move he made - none of that mattered when his best friend could be in trouble.

 

minhyuk never disappeared without a word - he would always let jooheon know when he was about to leave the nightclub, and whenever hyungwon took over his shift at the gas station, he'd send a text the moment he got home - despite knowing hyungwon never used his phone at work.

  
  


“good morning my dear aphrodite!” changkyun was preparing some breakfast in the kitchen when hyungwon exited his bedroom, his smile as wide and cheeky as ever as he waved his spatula. beside him stood kihyun, his expression as displeased as usual, snatching the spatula back from changkyun to stir some vegetables mixed with rice.

 

hyungwon halted briefly, about to question kihyun's presence - when he remembered changkyun's weird friend was the least of his worries right now. “not now.” hyungwon muttered as he rushed to get his keys and wallet from the counter before exiting through the front door in a hurry to meet jooheon.

 

changkyun stared at the door for a moment too long, causing kihyun to let out an exaggerated sigh - knowing  _ exactly _ what was on the devil’s mind. “want me to keep an eye on him?”

 

why did he even bother asking? because the nod of a head certainly didn’t come as a surprise. kihyun groaned in annoyance as he pulled the apron over his head, shoving it - along with the spatula - into changkyun’s hands before he grabbed his leather jacket and headed out.

 

///

 

they checked the nightclub first, but no one had seen or heard anything out of the ordinary. minhyuk's locker was empty and he had clocked out the usual time - his car was gone, as well - though no one had a clue as to where he actually went. certainly not back home, jooheon could confirm. he had been up since five in the morning - an hour before minhyuk would usually return - and had been waiting, calling  and looking, ever since. but to no avail, and the nightclub seemed to be a dead end, as well.

 

next, the two stopped by the gas station - but it was no surprise to find out they hadn't heard from minhyuk either since his last shift three days ago. another dead end, and they were starting to run out of options. minhyuk's parents were on a holiday in china, so he couldn't have gone to visit them, and as far as jooheon and hyungwon knew, he didn't have any other relatives around. 

 

they checked the church just to be sure - as well as minhyuk's favorite coffee shop - but he was nowhere to be found. in the end, there was nothing else the two friends could do but to return to jooheon and minhyuk's apartment and wait until twenty-four hours had passed in order to file a report at the police station. 

  
  


“this is fucking ridiculous,” jooheon angrily tossed his keys onto the hallway cabinet as they stepped inside his apartment, stomping over to the couch where he sat down - fingers threaded through his sandy blonde curls. “minhyuk doesn't just disappear like that…” he muttered, bringing big, watery eyes up to hyungwon moments after. “something bad must've happened to him, and i—”

 

jooheon's voice cracked, his gaze faltering. hyungwon carefully seated himself next to the younger, gently wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “i-i don't know what to do…” he choked out, pressing his face to hyungwon's shoulder. “i don't know what to do, wonnie. i'm a horrible boyfriend-”

 

“now, now…” hyungwon shushed, trying so hard to keep himself together - stay strong for jooheon's sake - but his bottom lip was quivering and his heart ached with worry. “you're not a horrible boyfriend.” hyungwon added after a brief pause, trying to reassure - because he didn't know what else to say, and he didn't know what to do, either. they checked all possible places minhyuk could be, and his phone was off so they couldn't reach him. all they could do was wait - as agonizing as that was going to be.

 

a long silence followed, consisting of hyungwon soothingly rubbing jooheon's shoulder and occasionally glancing at the clock. it was already three in the afternoon, around the time chaewon would leave the daycare - and today it was hyungwon's turn to pick her up. 

 

jooheon then leaned back slowly, wiping his nose and clearing his throat as he pulled himself back together. he never cried much - and when he did shed a few tears, he'd always come out stronger than before. something hyungwon really admired his friend for, as he himself - well… hyungwon wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was kind of a big crybaby.

 

“you have to pick up chaewon, don't you?” jooheon was clearly in pain, but he wore a smile as he looked at hyungwon - who reluctantly nodded his head. “it's okay, don't worry about me. i'll let you know if there are any updates, okay?”

 

“but—”

 

“no. you have other responsibilities to take care of. now go.” jooheon insisted - and he was right; chaewon had nowhere else to go with both her parents working. but as selfish as it sounded, hyungwon was scared of seeing hoseok again, with their last encounter being only a day prior.

 

though jooheon knew nothing of that, and hyungwon wasn’t going to bother him with dating drama when his own boyfriend was missing. so the older gave his friend a gentle hug and got up from the couch, heading to the front door.

 

“if anything happens - even if it’s just a rumor about minhyuk, you’ll let me know, yeah?” hyungwon asked for no reason in particular but to stick around just a bit longer. jooheon looked up from the couch, nodded with such a soft smile it brought tears to hyungwon’s eyes — all for the sake of appearing strong in front of a friend. 

 

“okay then..,” hyungwon slowly exited through the door, making it as far as across the doorstep before he turned back one last time. “and - i love you, heoni. stay strong.”

 

///

 

hyungwon was unsurprisingly late, with no more parents waiting for their children and all the classes empty as he arrived at the daycare - all but chaewon’s usual room, where his little sister sat in the play corner with a teddy bear and a bunny plushie hugged to her small body. 

 

she had to have dozed off while waiting, and hyungwon felt incredibly guilty at that moment. however, a quick look around had him realize something was off; the lack of a teacher. hyungwon knew the daycare workers weren’t allowed to leave until all of the children were picked up - so where was hoseok?

 

“... brother?” hyungwon was about to check one of the neighboring rooms when he heard the soft mumble, undoubtedly belonging to his little sister. without hesitating, he headed back into the room and cradled chaewon into his arms. “hey sunshine, i'm sorry i took so long.”

 

chaewon began to rub the sleep from her eyes as hyungwon took the plushies from her hands and returned them to the box of toys. once she seemed awake enough, he settled her onto her feet and patted the top of her head. “go get your bag, sunshine.”

 

“teacher went to the kitchen earlier.” chaewon called  out before she rushed to the coat hangers outside the room. of  _ course _ she knew what was on hyungwon's mind - she always knew somehow. just like she always knew to facetime him whenever he felt sad - until their mom would take her phone back. kids nowadays and their technology skills.

 

hyungwon followed his little sister out of the classroom before taking a turn to head for the kitchen in the back of the hallway. his steps were slow, careful - the unsettling feeling in his stomach making its sudden return. however, this time it was somehow worse, making hyungwon tremble and he halted just in front of the kitchen entrance to catch his breath and calm down a little - fingers tightly curled around the doorframe.

  
  


the door was closed, though the muffled sounds of two different voices could be heard from behind. hyungwon would be lying if he said he wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but he couldn't make much sense out of the string of words he managed to pick out.

 

“you can't just use people like that!” hoseok was definitely in there, and he sounded uncharacteristically angry. it wasn't like hyungwon had known hoseok long enough for him to tell the teacher never got angry - but this just sounded…  _ scary _ — and if there was one thing hyungwon knew, it was that hoseok wasn't exactly scary.

 

a different voice spoke up, belonging to a male also. it sounded awfully familiar to hyungwon's ears, but he couldn't place it immediately. “michael, she is  _ dangerous _ —”

  
  


“brother..? there is a weird man at the entrance.” hyungwon nearly jumped up when chaewon slid her tiny hand within his - her free thumb anxiously clasped between her teeth as she stared behind her. hyungwon nudged his little sister closer as he glanced over his shoulder. he could swear he saw something bright red shift from the corners of his eyes, but the entrance was empty - and so was the rest of the hallway.

 

though there was no time to worry about what was happening behind - as the kitchen door in front of hyungwon was tossed open and from it, emerged hoseok, seemingly having zero awareness of hyungwon and chaewon's presence as he turned back and firmly pressed a hand against the door to hold it open. “fuck right back off to silver city, and never -  _ ever _ come close to hyungwon or his friends again!”

 

“what?” hyungwon stood frozen in place, staring - it was only moments later that hoseok realized he was there, and the teacher completely froze up as well. a few seconds passed before another face appeared from the kitchen - tanned and big and handsome — the guy from the club?

 

what the actual fuck was going on in here? why was hoseok telling the other guy to stay away? what was silver city and who in the world was michael? also— there was some danger? and how was hyungwon involved in all of this?

 

“hyungwon - i'm sorry, i didn't know you were here.” hoseok's voice switched right back to that soft tone hyungwon had grown so fond of, but it felt so weird and out of place right now - with the other guy (hyunwoo, if hyungwon recalled correctly) staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights.

 

“what… what's going on?” hyungwon tried again after clearing his throat - though no one responded. hoseok had his lips parted with the will to speak, but something held him back, while hyunwoo just stood there looking at the teacher as if that silent stare was going to explain anything.

 

right there, hyungwon’s heart was broken all over again, repeatedly stomped on the longer the silence lasted. since their miserable ending of a date, he’d felt like hoseok was hiding something from him - and this very moment only seemed to confirm and worsen that feeling. something was going on here - something bad enough to enrage a gentle and loving man - something that obviously involved hyungwon as well. however, the one person holding the answers, was keeping his mouth shut.

 

it was… disappointing, to say the least - and hyungwon began to wish he’d never gone on a date in the first place. maybe then, none of this would’ve happened; the heartbreak, the secrecy - and just maybe, minhyuk wouldn’t have disappeared, either.

 

hyungwon continued to stand there for a bit longer, giving plenty of opportunity for an explanation - but no one spoke up. it wasn't until minutes later, the silence was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone and he moved to retrieve the device from his pocket.

 

on the screen flashed a new message from jooheon, announcing minhyuk's return — and another one, requesting for him to sleep over at hyungwon's place. 

 

this only confirmed that something horrible had happened, as jooheon rarely asked to sleep over. it was always hyungwon who was asked to sleep over at his friends’ apartment - not the other way around, and most definitely not with one friend unattending. 

 

the odd sensation in hyungwon’s stomach also told him that hyunwoo and hoseok had something to do with this. however, with neither of them speaking, he could only guess in what way they were involved. what was certain though, was that this situation was heading nowhere, and hyungwon didn’t have the patience to stick around and wait for answers that weren’t coming.

 

“come on chaewon, we’re going home.”

  
  


“wait, hyungwon-,” hoseok finally spoke up, though not for the reason hyungwon had hoped; “can i… can i see you later?”

 

hyungwon looked the other straight in the eye, feeling his heart sink into his shoes. after all this, hoseok only worries about seeing him again? his gaze shifted, down to the hand that had come to wrap around his wrist. letting go of chaewon's hand briefly, hyungwon carefully removed hoseok's fingers from his skin.

 

“no… no, you can’t. i'm sorry.” hyungwon barely succeeded in making himself audible, but the despair on hoseok's face told him that the message had been delivered. it was painful to turn away after that, and he wouldn’t have been able to hadn't it been for chaewon's reassuring grasp on his hand - and with slow steps, the siblings exited the building.

 

///

 

hyungwon's apartment was awfully crowded for once, with him and jooheon sitting on the couch, while changkyun cowered in the lounge chair with chaewon on his lap, her puny little fingers trying to reach for his nose. “child, i'm kindly requesting you to stop - my nose is not a toy..!”

 

after such a painful and exhausting day, the interaction brought some relief and distraction - for both hyungwon and jooheon alike. the latter needed it especially, as hyungwon had learned earlier that minhyuk spent the night with another man. it was then hyungwon realized what hoseok and hyunwoo had been fighting about - what hoseok exactly meant with his warning. however, with one question answered, only more came in place — only was hyungwon too exhausted to worry about any of that right now.

 

“hey sunshine, there's banana milk in the fridge.” hyungwon pointed out and within seconds, chaewon had climbed down changkyun's lap to rush for the refrigerator. “ugh, you creepy little beings.” changkyun muttered as he brushed down the creases in the fabric of his suit - looking expensive as ever even within the comforts of his own home. (hyungwon took a mental note to check changkyun's closet to see if he actually owned a pair of sweatpants or any of the likes.)

 

“you don't seem to have a lot of experience with children.” jooheon spoke up, careful and with clear suspicion of the person he was addressing. sure, he'd eased up quite a lot with hyungwon insisting changkyun is an alright guy - willing to share a room with ‘the devil’ - but that didn't mean jooheon didn't have his guard up. nonetheless, he was being open-minded, curious to learn about hyungwon's roommate. “single child?”

 

changkyun sat up in his chair, shaking his head with a chuckle as he fixed the collar button of his blouse. “plenty of siblings - too many to count. fortunately i never had to deal with them as my father kicked me out of the house.” with his button fixed, changkyun sat back, lips pursed as he hummed in thought. “well, with the exception of one brother. but he was no longer a child at that point.” 

 

changkyun had siblings - not just one, but multiple versions just like him. wasn't that just wonderful to know? hopefully hyungwon would have the pleasure of never getting to meet one.

 

“i'm… sorry to hear that.” jooheon shifted a bit closer to the edge of the couch, elbows propped up onto his thighs - he was starting to ease up, let his guard down a little. “about your dad. no father should kick out their own child.” 

 

“ _ finally _ , someone who gets it.” changkyun heaved out, dramatically waving an arm in the air. hyungwon had heard enough - not interested in participating in the conversation when it was about parents - plus, it was quite obvious where this was heading now that changkyun found someone willing to listen. so hyungwon got up and joined chaewon in the kitchen, convincing her to come along and watch some cartoons in his bedroom.

  
  


“well then. seems like someone is in a bad mood today.” changkyun muttered as he watched hyungwon disappear into his room, completely unaware of anything that might be wrong. he knew  _ something _ was off, but no one actually bothered to inform him  _ why _ hyungwon looked like he was constipated all day. “does he— is he having abdominal issues?”

 

jooheon cocked up his eyebrows momentarily before he emitted a chuckle, shaking his head. “no, he's just exhausted. he's got a lot on his mind and i doubt he has the energy to deal with dad talk right now.” 

 

changkyun's gaze remained focused on the closed bedroom door, though he could feel jooheon's stare. it was nothing special - having someone be appalled by his presence - just surprised that those abilities seemed to be working again all of a sudden. “aha. daddy issues.” he concluded, turning back to face jooheon.

 

“not… exactly. more like he lost his father, and— wait.” jooheon managed to peel his gaze away from the other male, blinking confusedly as he tilted his head and leaned back in his seat. he knew just how painful of a topic this was to hyungwon, and it was not up to him - in fact, incredibly  _ unlike _ him to tell others about it. yet a simple glance in changkyun's direction and jooheon felt the strong urge to reveal the world's biggest and darkest secrets.

 

changkyun simply sat back in his chair, grinning with amusement. “you were thinking about it, weren't you?”

 

“about what?” jooheon's guard went right back up, his eyes narrowing - though his gaze lowered again as soon as the two made eye contact. 

 

“about telling me.” changkyun sounded awfully certain of himself - and he wasn't wrong, but jooheon shook his head anyway. “then… you were  _ definitely _ thinking of making out with me, no?”

 

“the hell? i did not!” jooheon exclaimed, entirely sure that would be the last thing he'd think of - but his voice was quivering despite that fact. something about changkyun was really setting him on edge.

 

“fair enough. you have a boyfriend, after all. how are things between you and that overly intrusive puppy guy anyway?” changkyun couldn't forget the day he moved in - when minhyuk walked up from the parking lot and just slumped an arm around his shoulder out of nowhere. he was quite an odd human being, and the devil was glad not to have to share an apartment with  _ him _ .

 

jooheon was still fighting that weird urge to spill, not wanting to make the same mistake of revealing too much, twice - but changkyun's pull was strong (was this the attraction hyungwon had mentioned?), and he inevitably caved in. “his name is minhyuk..,” he started, hesitant. “and we're… taking a break, right now.”

 

silence followed as jooheon and changkyun simply exchanged eye contact for a moment. jooheon was holding his breath, teeth biting down his bottom lip to keep himself from talking — though the plump tier was released seconds later as the blonde inhaled sharply. “you know what? no. whatever this trick is that you're pulling - i'm not falling for it.”

 

changkyun flashed that ugly little grin again, leaning his temple against his index finger, with the middle digit ghosting over his lips. “you're quite the fighter - but i can assure you it is normal. funnily enough, i don't seem to have this appeal towards hyungwon though… interesting, isn't it?” he explained, as if that would make any sense to a mere human.

 

“i'm happy he's immune to your shit.” jooheon groaned as he got up from the couch, ready to put an end to this as soon as possible. he'd given changkyun a shot - and for a moment, he was truly convinced hyungwon was right. though not anymore — not when changkyun was poking his nose into business it didn't belong - be it for pure gossip material or other reasons. 

 

“you've got quite a foul mouth for someone wearing a crucifix around their neck.” changkyun pointed out, the mock all too clear in his voice. 

 

“fuck you.” jooheon retorted, his hand curling around the pendant as he headed for hyungwon's bedroom. it was one thing to be nosy - but to mock his faith? sure, jooheon wasn't free from sin, but he surely tried his best to do his part in the bettering of humanity - be it with voluntary work or simply offering food to a homeless person — and he held pride in that.

 

so to have that questioned and made fun of - for changkyun to even dare doing so in the first place — it absolutely disgusted jooheon. added that the self-proclaimed devil was still super suspicious and clearly an inconsiderate prick, jooheon had come to his final judgement;

 

changkyun was definitely not to be trusted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> changkyun is going to be a larger part of the story from here on out, and because of it there will be slight perspective jumps every now and then between him and hyungwon, depending on who's mostly leading the dialogue. i hope this won't be causing any confusion.
> 
> but as always, thank you so much for reading <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> with another night, another secret comes to light.

midnight came around quietly, with chaewon and hyungwon asleep in hyungwon's bedroom, and jooheon snuggled up underneath a spare blanket on the couch. everything seemed normal - aside from a shadow forming outside on the balcony, a human-like creature emerging from it; kihyun. the demon looked frustrated as he brushed his fingers through his red curls and fixed the collar of his leather jacket.

 

“your stupid little human is ruining  _ everything _ .” he started, turning towards changkyun - who stood in the corner with a glass of whiskey, leaning back against the apartment window. “gabriel is using him to get to michael and it—”

 

changkyun lunged forward, cutting kihyun off as he grabbed the demon by his throat, “he  _ what _ !?” there was no time for a simple hello - pitch black eyes lighting up with a raging fire as the devil squeezed (though his grip was rather weak). “i had  _ specifically _ ordered you to keep gabriel away from hyungwon—”

 

“no,” kihyun remained completely unaffected by his boss’ anger, his own fingers curling around changkyun's wrist - and slowly, as sharp nails dug deep into divine skin, he succeeded in removing the hand from his throat. “you ordered me to keep gabriel away from  _ michael _ ." he exhaled quickly, agitated, as he fixed his collar once more. “you also forbid me from questioning your intentions - but how can i not when you're allowing a mere mortal to fuck up everything you worked so hard for? your weakling of a brother is head over heels for that damned human and will do anything to keep him safe. he'll let gabriel take him back to silver city and your sacrifice will be for naught.”

 

changkyun leaned back slowly, teeth gritted - before chugging down his drink in one go as he side-eyed kihyun with spite. he knew his demon to have a tempter, to always talk back to him and question his orders - but never to this degree. the demon had never disobeyed his master.

 

though, after the initial shock passed, changkyun cared little for what kihyun was trying to tell him. he closed his eyes briefly as he inhaled sharply, fingers twitching around the glass in a desperate attempt not to break it this time. “if you had done your bloody job, mazikeen, none of this would have been an issue. so i strongly suggest you find gabriel and fix your mistakes.”

 

“no, i'm done cleaning up your mess, lucifer. take care of your stupid toys yourself.” changkyun had been so polite in his words, yet kihyun had the audacity to sneer at him like that - even worse; the demon disappeared after that, and something told changkyun he hadn't left to follow his orders.

 

“ _ fuck _ !” the glass was inevitably shattered as changkyun slammed it onto the balcony railing, tiny shards crackling underneath his hand as fingers tightly curled around the iron bar. he didn't notice much of the pressure to his palm at first - until an odd, prickling feeling began to take over his local nerves.

  
  
  


“what's going on?” changkyun had been so caught up in the moment, he never noticed the curtains were pulled open and the balcony door opened. he quickly let go of the railing, turning around to face jooheon - who was questioning him through narrowed eyes… or was he just sleepy?

 

“how long have you been here?” changkyun had to ask, to make sure. although he'd never been one to hide his identity, he was aware of the risks now - the potential danger he could put hyungwon into if he were to involve his roommate and co. (not that the devil was _ actually _ trying to protect hyungwon, but— you know.)

 

“just.. now. i heard glass breaking and came out.” jooheon spoke carefully, keeping his distance between him and changkyun as he hadn't forgotten their conversation of a few hours earlier. changkyun still remained suspicious - but that didn't mean jooheon was not going to help someone who might've hurt himself. “are you alright? your hand…”

 

changkyun blinked a few times, cleared his throat and scrunched up his nose. “yeah, i'm fine.”

 

“but— you're bleeding.”

 

bleeding? that was impossible. changkyun held his hand up - that unfamiliar, prickly feeling growing stronger - and turned his palm upwards, watching in disbelief as a couple drops of blood trickled their way down, to the back of his hand, and onto the concrete balcony flooring.

 

“i'm bleeding…” but…  _ how _ ? divine creatures didn't bleed - not on earth. they were too strong to be shot or stabbed — not even a train could stop them (changkyun played a game of who crashes first; the train lost), so certainly a simple piece of glass couldn't cut through him just like that.

 

changkyun hadn't even noticed jooheon leaving, but when the blonde came back into sight, he carried a bunch of tissues which he pressed against the skin to soak up the blood. it was done silently, a palpable tension lingering in the air that even the devil wouldn't dare cut through with his voice. jooheon didn't trust him - changkyun figured, and usually he wouldn't care - hadn't it been for the fact that hyungwon was super close with this guy. (again, not that changkyun actually cared for hyungwon or anything - and he  _ definitely _ wasn't trying to win over hyungwon's friends to get on his good side.)

 

once all the blood was wiped and the little cuts were exposed, jooheon stuffed one last tissue into changkyun's hand and ordered him to clutch onto it. the blonde then disappeared again, before he returned with a cotton bud, some bandages and a bottle of pure alcohol.

 

“that's kind of you.” changkyun chimed as he snatched the bottle from jooheon's hand - though it was taken right back from him. “no, you idiot - that's pure alcohol for your wound. you'll die if you drink that.” jooheon groaned, trying not to mind hyungwon's idiotic roommate as he soaked the cotton bud with the alcohol and cleaned the cuts on changkyun's palm, before taking the bandages and wrapping them around his hand, securing it at the wrist.

 

“there.” jooheon sighed as he moved back, brushing his fingers through messy curls and grabbing the bloody tissues afterwards to throw them away - but something had him halt in his steps, turning back to face changkyun once more. “why… why did you hurt yourself?”

 

changkyun was shown not one– but  _ two _ acts of kindness; first, the treatment of his hand, and then the question about his well-being. it was weird for someone to worry about him -  _ especially _ a church boy - though it managed to put a smile on his face, and he decided to talk. after all, it was jooheon who distrusted him - changkyun himself had nothing against the human. 

 

(okay, except from jooheon’s faith in his father.)

 

“i… was delivered some bad news. i suppose i let the anger get the best of me and broke the glass in the process.” 

 

jooheon seemed to have a sudden change of heart or something, as he clicked his tongue and sighed once again, yet he joined by changkyun’s side, leaning against the railing. just hours ago he’d walked out on a conversation, but now he was willing to listen? what an interesting turn of events. perhaps even church boys weren’t immune to the devil’s charms.

 

“you wanna talk about it?” jooheon asked, briefly locking eyes with changkyun before he shifted his gaze up at the moon, deciding it was safer not to risk being lured in again.

 

changkyun stared briefly - still a bit surprised by the sudden shift in behavior - and then turned to look up at the sky as well. “as i had mentioned before, my father kicked me out of the house - but i wasn’t the only one. one of my brothers was kicked out right after me, as well - and one day i found him, critically wounded. i risked my  _ life _ for him - accepted the possibility of death to bring him somewhere safe– to bring him  _ here _ . though as it turns out, another brother of mine has found us and is trying to take the both of us back home - back to father, who was the cause of my brother’s injuries in the first place.” 

 

when changkyun finished his little story and averted his gaze back to jooheon, he found himself being stared at. now  _ that _ was a reaction more fitting to his expectations, and changkyun emitted a chuckle as he turned to lean his back against the railing instead. “so, if you ever happen to run into a big, good-looking fellow who is only slightly less charismatic than myself, i suggest you turn the other way.”

 

jooheon was still staring - though soon enough he looked down with a frown tugging at his eyebrows. he made a face -  _ that  _ face; changkyun had seen it on those television shows plenty of times, when an idea would pop up and a light bulb was turned on above a character's head. how funny would it be for such a thing to happen in reality, too? what a shame it didn't.

 

“your brother… that little trick you tried to pull on me earlier - is he able to do that, too?” jooheon suddenly asked.

 

“luring out your desires? i suppose he could, yes. why?”

 

“and does his name happen to be hyunwoo?”

 

it was changkyun's turn to frown now, his bandaged hand coming up to scratch at his chin in thought. he had no brother with such name, but —  _ ah _ , right. mazikeen mentioned once that gabriel was using that name to cover up his identity. “that… would be correct.”

 

for some reason, the revelation had jooheon laugh - then sigh and muffle a groan behind his hands as he dragged them across his face. “i can't fucking believe this.” the blonde mumbled, dropping his hands by his sides and staring at his feet.

 

“may i ask what thought just popped up in that head of yours?” changkyun was genuinely curious - as well as concerned. if jooheon knew of his brother already, gabriel may have been getting closer than he had realized.

 

jooheon turned again to face changkyun, looking him straight in the eye. “ _ your _ brother slept with  _ my  _ boyfriend.”

 

silence. 

 

then, loud laughter.

 

changkyun was clutching his chest, wiping at imaginary tears - in short, he was incredibly amused by the accusation that had just been thrown at him. straightening his back and clearing his throat, he looked back at jooheon, “sweetie, my brother has been a virgin since... forever - and that isn't going to change anytime soon unless he decides to pull that holy stick from his arse.”

 

“shit.” a second imaginary light bulb appeared above jooheon's head then, pulling out his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants to send his boyfriend an apology. when minhyuk came home that late afternoon and explained what happened, he'd insisted on  _ not _ having slept with hyunwoo - but jooheon didn't want to hear it - couldn't believe it. turns out minhyuk had been honest all along - if he was foolish enough to take changkyun's word for it — and he did.

 

“but… if your brother is here for  _ you _ ,” jooheon started after he send out his message and returned his phone to his pocket. “why is he involving minhyuk in this?”

 

so that was what kihyun meant with using hyungwon - changkyun realized just then; gabriel must've seeked out minhyuk for intel on one of hyungwon's relationships - and he was planning on using that information to blackmail michael into going back to silver city with him. 

 

his brother was smart - changkyun had to give him that - but he was using his intellect for all the wrong reasons, naively following the creator's orders, thinking what he's doing is in humanity's best interest… if only he would finally open his eyes - break out of their father's evil grasp.

 

“hyungwon.” changkyun breathed out defeatedly, curling both hands around the railing and squeezing tightly. “because my other brother fancies hyungwon and hyunwoo needed minhyuk to confirm that - to use it against him.”

 

“your brother fancies… wait —  _ hoseok _ ? teacher hoseok is your  _ other _ brother!?” jooheon seemed genuinely surprised, and changkyun wasn't sure whether to take offense to that or not. were he and hoseok really that different?

 

“yes.” changkyun answered, short and straight-forward - eyes narrowing as some kind of amused grin began to spread across jooheon's lips. “why? are you suspecting me of lying?”

 

the blonde quickly shook his head, “no! it's just… surprising, is all.” and it really was, but as shocking as this revelation was - there were more important matters at hand right now.

 

“okay, but,” just like his gut feeling had been telling him since day one; his best friend was in trouble - if changkyun's whole story was true. though at this point, jooheon saw no reason to doubt the other — okay, no, there was enough reason - but that same gut feeling told him changkyun was speaking the truth.  “if what you're telling me is true, i suggest you take care of your brothers real fucking quick — because if hyungwon gets hurt, i  _ will _ hurt you.”

 

changkyun would've laughed, shaken this off as a useless threat considering humans could not hurt the divine. however, a single glance at his palm reminded him that such no longer seemed to be the case - that he had weakened. he had to be careful until he figured out what exactly was making him vulnerable.

 

“i will fix this, i promise.”

 

///

 

the next morning promised to be much happier, as hyungwon woke up to a hopeful jooheon, confident he was going to fix his relationship with minhyuk. admittedly, it came as quite the shocker - considering the younger had been claiming that four years of dating had been thrown out of the window, the night before - but it was definitely a pleasant surprise.

 

jooheon left early, and chaewon and changkyun were still asleep - so hyungwon used the silent early morning to his advantage, taking his turn in preparing breakfast for once. on the menu; roasted toast and an omelette (he originally wanted to make kimchi fried rice, then remembered he was an awful cook and not burning the egg was going to be a whole challenge already).

 

it was chaewon who joined him in the kitchen first, dressed in hyungwon's old tee that he'd grown out of - but was way too big on her tiny body - and holding onto mister tedbear; the teddy bear hyungwon received from his father when he was but as old as chaewon was now. 

 

“good morning, sunshine.” hyungwon further tousled with the bundle of messy bed hair atop her head, earning himself a cute little whine in protest as chaewon wriggled away from the evil hand and climbed her way on top of the stool in front of the kitchen isle. she placed mister tedbear on the counter in front of her, cheeks puffed as she leaned forward to rest her chin on the plush's belly.

 

“slept well?” hyungwon's eyes were filled with pure endearment as he looked over his little sister, who nodded in response - still too sleepy to use her voice. just like hyungwon, chaewon absolutely sucked at waking up.

 

just as hyungwon served up a plate of egg and toast, changkyun appeared from his own bedroom - swinging by the kitchen and snatching the toast right off the plate that was meant for the little one. “much appreciated!” the devil chimed with that eerie, early morning cheerfulness, as he curved around the isle and took a seat beside chaewon - taking a bite from the toast right after.

 

“that was for chaewon…” hyungwon mumbled softly as he stared in disbelief, though his little sister was quick to reassure him with a simple pat to the back of his hand. “it's okay. uncle toothpaste can have my toast.”

 

“uncle toothpaste?” hyungwon snorted and changkyun scrunched up his nose as he chewed down his food, clearly unhappy with the odd nickname he'd been given.

 

“yes! while brother and honey were talking yesterday, uncle toothpaste told me his name is luchipello! like the toothpaste mommy always buys me.” chaewon explained happily - though hyungwon wasn’t as amused any longer. after their first meeting, hyungwon was convinced changkyun had just played a prank on him - and his roommate seemed to have dropped the whole devil act after that weird hair dye talk.

 

however, that no longer seemed to be the case now - and hyungwon could handle the lord of darkness, but in no way was he going to allow changkyun to mess with his little sister like this.

 

“seriously, changkyun? she’s five,  _ and _ she goes to church. do you  _ want _ her to have nightmares for the rest of her life?” hyungwon immediately regretted raising his voice like that - didn’t even know where he got the confidence from in the first place - but when changkyun cocked up an eyebrow in response, he flinched - an apology resting on the tip of his tongue.

 

“it’s okay, big brother. toothpaste doesn’t scare me anymore. i’m a big girl already, i can brush my own teeth, even!” 

 

changkyun nearly choked on a crumble of toast, while hyungwon brought his gaze back to chaewon, a sigh of relief, mixed with endearment, emitted from his lips. thankfully she hadn’t made the connection, her mind so pure and positive it made hyungwon want to hide her away from the evil world forever. 

  
  


“egg.” changkyun’s annoyingly beautiful, deep voice - albeit muffled with dry toast - had hyungwon turn his head again, frown returning as the smell of something burning caused for his nostrils to flare. 

 

egg.  _ egg! _

 

hyungwon quickly turned off the stove and grabbed the spatula, scraping the soot from the pan. of course he managed to burn something as simple as an egg, but at least his toast seemed to be tasty - if changkyun licking off the crumbles from his fingers was anything to go by.

 

with a sigh, hyungwon set the pan back down on the stove and placed the spatula on the counter, getting the last piece from the toaster afterwards. he coated it with a mix of creamed butter and fresh strawberries, then placed it on the plate in front of chaewon.

 

“eat your breakfast and get dressed, sunshine. then i’ll walk you back to mom’s place.”

 

/// 

 

what was supposed to be a simple, ordinary drop-off, turned into something incredibly awkward - and simultaneously a heart-warming, new experience. they walked with three; chaewon in the middle, holding changkyun's hand on the left, and hyungwon's on the right. changkyun originally claimed to have other plans, but upon chaewon's request, he decided to join hyungwon in walking her home.

 

much to hyungwon's surprise — however, there was a part of him that was really glad changkyun came along. sure, his roommate was highly problematic, weird, lacked a concerning amount of common sense and - not to forget - had a huge ego, there was still enough left for hyungwon to be eager to learn about. he  _ really _ wanted to get to know changkyun - and what better way to start off than to spend more time together like this?

  
  


“thank you.., by the way.” hyungwon started to break the silence that lingered between him and changkyun in particular - as chaewon had been blabbering about the adventures of her and mister tedbear for the past ten minutes. “for cheering up jooheon. i don't know what you told him, but it gave him hope for his relationship.”

 

changkyun was surprised, to say the least, by the kind words he received - as just an hour ago, hyungwon had raised his voice for the very first time. looking back at it, changkyun kept quiet then not to mess anything up - because hyungwon had been right and telling chaewon about his true identity would do no good, as young as she was — but in changkyun's defense, he'd told her  _ before _ he knew what gabriel had done and realized that knowledge could put the innocent humans in danger.

 

for the first time, the devil wasn't sure what to say - at a loss for words, one might say - needing a moment to return his silent stare into the usual, cocky smile. “it was my pleasure.”

 

seconds later, changkyun's gaze faltered, glancing at his hand as he uncurled his fingers to expose his palm. the bandage had been removed, though a clear cut still remained, unwilling to heal itself - but at least it was no longer bleeding, which meant he still had the ability to regenerate, albeit at an awfully…  _ human _ -like pace.

  
  


“is everything alright?” as for hyungwon; he was completely oblivious to what had happened - only noticing how unusually quiet changkyun has been all morning. he couldn’t say he disliked it, though it worried him a bit.

 

changkyun's eyes snapped back to his roommate, wearing the cheek all over his expression as usual. “of course i am! i'm more than alright — i'm wonderful!” it was such a painfully obvious act - but hyungwon bought it. because changkyun was always being weird, so he didn't question the sudden change of demeanor. 

 

“uncle toothpaste is a bad liar.” chaewon pointed out like it was nothing - as if she could look right through changkyun, and both adults widened their eyes in surprise before changkyun let out an awkward laugh, his free hand reluctantly reaching for chaewon's hair to ruffle it. 

 

“oh, you silly little human… i told you yesterday not to call me that.” changkyun spoke through gritted teeth while eyeing hyungwon, the corners of his lips forced up into a smile. though hyungwon wasn't buying the act for a second time - not with such an obviously forced expression. sure, he could be naive - but not to this extent.

 

“you know… you can tell me anything—”

  
  


“ah, hyungwon! it's so good to see you!” a sudden voice disrupted the trio, gazes turning in the direction of the stranger - and chaewon immediately let go of the boys’ hands to run over. “daddy!”

 

hyungwon came to a standstill - completely froze up — something that didn't go unnoticed by changkyun, whose eyes shifted back and forth between a middle-aged man and his roommate, subconsciously taking a step forward towards hyungwon - his stance defensive.

 

there was something odd going on here, and it wasn't the fact that hyungwon and chaewon's father looked nothing alike - changkyun was aware of this, having learned that hyungwon's dad had passed. putting one and one together wasn't that difficult — however, putting two and two together proved to be a challenge. 

 

“i'm glad i ran into you. you see, your mother is sick and i don't want to put too much stress on her, so i think it is better if you don't come to our house. i'll take chaewon with me, alright?” it wasn't the fact that this guy was an obvious asshole, either. no. something else was going on here.

 

“t-that's fine, sir. please tell my mom i hope she gets better soon.” hyungwon was the one forcing a smile this time, his heart twisting and tangling inside his ribcage. this was a common occurrence; being denied visitation to his own mother - but just because it happened often, didn't mean it would hurt less each time.

 

so he said his goodbyes and turned - didn't even bother to look if changkyun followed after him - returning back home where he would probably just binge watch some netflix before preparing for his nightshift. in the end, it would always be like this; just hyungwon and his own conscience, all alone - like he was meant to be, apparently.

  
  


“hey! show some mercy for the man with smaller legs!” 

 

no, this time it was different - it was going to be different. hyungwon had a roommate now - and even if they weren't exactly the best of friends, it meant something. 

 

despite whining about having the tiny legs, changkyun was quick to catch up, placing a hand onto hyungwon’s shoulder which had him halt in his steps. it was a simple gesture, though to hyungwon, it was reassuring - had him actually forget about the mess that was his family for a brief moment.

 

“sorry, i just… i think i left the toaster on at home—“ but hyungwon couldn't get himself to be honest about it yet, so he offered some half-assed excuse for walking away so suddenly. one that was not true in the slightest, as he’d checked twice if the toaster was unplugged before leaving - though changkyun didn’t seem to question it.

 

“then you should hurry, of course.” changkyun agreed with a nod of his head before his attention was suddenly interrupted as he glanced to the side, catching sight of something interesting enough for him to turn around.

 

“ah, i will have to go now. i’ll see you back home, roomie!” and just like that, changkyun walked away, leaving hyungwon behind in the middle of the streets. big, brown eyes followed the suited silhouette briefly, hoping changkyun would change his mind and turn back - but he didn’t, and hyungwon didn’t have the guts to call out, to voice what he really wanted at that very moment.

 

he could only mumble softly, a faint whisper;

  
  


“i don’t want to be alone…”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> brothers reunite, and hyungwon tries to get back to his normal routine before all the drama.

"michael,” changkyun stood on the church's stairs, awfully uncomfortable with his surroundings - though he'd come here with a purpose, and he was determined to fulfill that purpose before he'd get as far from his father's… let's call it ‘real estate’ - as possible.

 

hoseok stood in the door opening, the shock of this surprise visit written all over his face. he had seen changkyun before, during…  _ that day _ , but they hadn't actually met face to face for what had to be at least seven human years. now, seven years wasn't that long when you've been alive since the very beginning of time - though hoseok's days on earth were beginning to take its toll - and what had only been years, had come to feel like millenia to him.

 

“luci,” his voice was kept stable, but somewhere in it, changkyun noticed some uncertainty - hints of mixed emotions that had to do with more than just this visit. nevertheless, hoseok politely bowed his head before he stepped aside to allow his brother in. “it… it's been a while.”

 

“it has, and for that i wanted to apologize. i should've come to see you when i descended.” changkyun answered, his voice lacking of its usual cockiness as his gaze was fixed onto the ground, feet reluctant to move forward. after all that he and his brother had gone through, he simply couldn't understand why hoseok decided to live in a church of all places.

 

“don't worry,” hoseok chuckled softly as he noticed the hesitancy, reaching out to take a hold of changkyun's wrist and lead him inside - though the devil was quick to pull back as his hand burned and—

 

it was gone. the cut on his palm was gone. not even a scar had taken its place — changkyun's hand had healed entirely.

 

“sorry, i—”

 

“no, it's fine.” changkyun quickly stepped inside, his gaze shifting through the room he entered - a rushed inspection - before it fell onto the couch, which he took a seat upon. it wasn't until then that he noticed the presence of another creature beside him, nestled against a pillow, a tail wagging and its head rising as it caught the smell of a stranger.

 

moments later, a little, yellow bundle of fur had tackled changkyun to the backrest of the couch, paws pressed against his chest as a little puppy barked excitedly in between friendly little facial licks. the pet had changkyun frozen in place - not afraid of dogs per se, but it was unusual for an animal to approach the devil in a friendly manner. most of them would act threatened and proceed to run as far away as possible.

 

“sam, stand down.” hoseok called out a kind demand - and just like that, the puppy jumped down from changkyun's lap and curled up by his feet on the carpet.

 

“sam?” changkyun questioned as he sat up, his nose scrunched as he wiped some blonde locks from his beloved suit before he raised his gaze to follow hoseok, who slowly made his way over to the couch and took a seat beside his brother. “yeah… that's his name.”

 

changkyun remained silent, another question resting at the tip of his tongue, though he didn't ask - didn't want to know, and hoseok quickly caught on. “i found him outside the door a couple of weeks ago. the poor thing was all wet and hungry, so i took him in.” hoseok was smiling as he spoke, leaning over to pet the little pup on the head. “i put up flyers around the neighborhood, but no one responded, so i decided to keep him.”

 

leave it up to hoseok to perform such an  _ angelic _ act (how iconic) - however, it was no secret to the brothers that hoseok's time on earth had changed him significantly - and if changkyun's short stay was already starting to humanize him to the point of being able to bleed, how vulnerable did hoseok have to be at this point? 

 

changkyun could only hope hyunwoo hadn't caught onto their weaknesses yet, or else this fight would be long lost. hyunwoo still had his wings, and as the oldest, strongest angel of the bunch, changkyun and hoseok wouldn't stand a chance should he decide to forcefully take them back home.

 

with a sigh, changkyun leaned back, brushing his fingers through his hair. “listen, i came here to talk about gabriel—”

  
  


“do you like hyungwon?”

 

just like that, hoseok cut off changkyun to ask a question completely irrelevant to the topic at hand - and that's when it became clear to changkyun why his brother had sounded so strange upon his arrival. for hoseok, the biggest threat was not their oldest brother taking him away - but it was changkyun's potential in stealing hyungwon from him.

 

“don't be ridiculous, michael. but that's not important right now—”

 

“i'm no fool, luci. i saw the way you were looking at him in the park. you never looked at anyone like that - with such longing.” hoseok never raised his voice one bit, but his accusations were so damn loud. they had changkyun silenced for a moment - though not because they were true - but more due to the disbelief of hoseok even coming to such an absurd conclusion. and when he was about to talk serious strategies, of all moments. (if only kihyun was here right now… he was way better at conversations like these.)

 

“of course. silence speaks volumes.” hoseok sighed as he closed his eyes for a brief moment, clearly having made up his mind already - though changkyun wasn't just going to take this. if it was hyungwon hoseok wanted to talk about, then talk about hyungwon they shall.

 

changkyun got up from the couch - careful for his feet not to hit the puppy - and made his way over to an alcohol cabinet beside the fireplace, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. “you're being delusional, brother. i was only there to check up on you, make sure you did nothing foolish in front of that human.” it was an excuse changkyun wanted to believe in - and it  _ was _ partially true; he went there to check up on  _ someone _ \- but that didn't change the fact he didn't know who hyungwon's date was, back then.

 

“so is that why you came back down? to check up on me?” hoseok's tone had turned into something more judgemental, arms crossed over his broad chest as he watched his brother move around the other side of the room. changkyun took a sip from his glass and simply nodded his head in response - and again, that was true… originally.

 

“then answer me this one question, luci.  _ why _ did you move into hyungwon's apartment, of all places?”

 

okay, now hoseok was just making things unnecessarily difficult - because yes, changkyun could admit to being intrigued with hyungwon even back when he was watching from hell (a chance meeting really wasn't such a coincidence after all), to the point of deciding to take the opportunity and move in with a human - but that was  _ not _ the same as having feelings for someone. 

 

another sip, and changkyun answered; “you're reaching too far, michael. there was an opportunity and i took it.” he  _ could _ admit - though he wasn't going to. “you're close to him, so, through the human, i could remain up to date about your situation without being in your face all the time.”

 

now it was hoseok's turn to remain quiet for a moment, a frown knitted onto his forehead as he averted his gaze to the carpet. “so… you're  _ using _ him?”

 

ouch. that accusation hit changkyun right in the guts - and it hurt, especially after what their older brother had done. however, he couldn't exactly deny it without having to admit to everything else. changkyun scrunched up his nose again, taking another sip - a refill - and then another one. “in a way… yes - but it's for your protection!”

 

“funny. that's exactly what gabriel told me the other day.”

 

double ouch.

 

“what i'm doing is  _ nothing _ like what gabriel did! he hurt people— relationships, just to get to you. i would  _ never _ do that.”

 

“luci, listen to yourself. if hyungwon figures out you've been using him, don't you think he'll be hurt, as well? i don't want that to happen - i don't want people to suffer for my protection. so if going back to father is what it takes to stop that, i should just let gabriel take me.”

 

changkyun was finally rendered speechless, standing and staring at his brother in disbelief over what hoseok just said. he knew hyungwon was important - to hoseok - and kihyun had made sure to confirm that — but changkyun never would've guessed hoseok could just throw away everything he'd done to save him, just for the sake of a single mortal being.

 

the muscles in his cheeks visibly moved as changkyun clenched his teeth and set his glass aside, stomping over towards the couch, where he grabbed hoseok by the collar and jerked him up from his seat with ease. “i did  _ not _ risk my entire existence to save you only for you to turn your back on me, so i will  _ not _ allow you to go back home!”

 

for someone who was well aware of the devil's strength, hoseok remained strangely calm - his gaze awfully confident as it was locked with changkyun's and a hand was placed atop the one on hoseok's shirt, slowly prying it off. “promise me hyungwon's safety, and i'll stay.”

 

changkyun yanked his hand back himself, leaving it balled up by his side as he stepped back with widened eyes of shock. there was no doubt about the fact hoseok was being serious, and that was incredibly painful to acknowledge. changkyun just couldn't understand (didn't  _ want  _ to understand) how his own brother would betray him for a human - and without even hesitating. 

 

“you're fucking insane, michael.” the devil shook his head as he backed up towards the front door, although his eyes remained locked onto the angel in front of him. it was some half-assed attempt at appearing intimidating, despite his awareness of how this was going to end. there was no way changkyun could deny hoseok’s request, and he reached back for the doorknob, turning it. “though you leave me with no choice…” 

 

the devil sighed, gaze finally faltering to the floor in defeat. “i will keep hyungwon safe. so please, stay.”

 

there was a hint of a smile that formed onto the corners of hoseok's lips, though he wasn't fully content just yet - not until hyungwon's safety could be assured. “i'll remain here for as long as you can keep your promise.” he answered as he approached the door, holding it open for changkyun to step outside.

 

the two brothers stood there for a moment, exchanging quiet looks - before hoseok took that extra step forward and pulled changkyun into a sudden hug.

 

“and— i'm glad you're back, brother - i really am.”

 

///

 

there were twenty minutes left to kill before work as hyungwon arrived at the gas station, after spending his afternoon binge watching netflix series - just like he'd planned. he knew minhyuk to be working the shift before him, and with his friend going back to work so quickly after  _ very  _ recent events, hyungwon wanted to make sure he was really doing okay.

  
  


oddly enough, the inside of the gas station seemed empty with no one tending the register as hyungwon passed by to go around back. it wasn't much like minhyuk to neglect his duties, so hyungwon approached with caution - careful and as quiet as he could manage while unlocking the back door.

 

“minhyuk..?” hyungwon called out softly as he pushed open the door and slowly made his way through storage, towards the locker room. there, he halted upon hearing unfamiliar sounds coming from behind the doors - shuffling, a gruntled noise and a loud thud against the metallic lockers. someone was there, and it sounded like they were in trouble.

 

without thinking twice, hyungwon pushed through the doors — but halted immediately as he took sight of what was happening in front of him. 

  
  


there stood minhyuk, leaning over jooheon, who was pressed against the locker and captured between the metal and his boyfriend's frame - their lips locked in a kiss of passion (ew,  _ gross _ ) — which was broken as soon as the doors fell shut behind their best friend.

 

“hyungwon!” minhyuk exclaimed, stepping back to straighten his back as he cleared his throat, “you're early.” 

 

it was a mere kiss that hyungwon walked in on - though the heavy air that surrounded them, made it feel as if he'd walked in on his friends doing the do. and with things usually not being this awkward, that could only mean one thing… (oh, oh  _ god. _ )

  
  


“seriously, guys - at work?!” hyungwon shifted his gaze from minhyuk to jooheon - who returned it with a sheepish smile as he zipped up his hoodie that had been halfway undone. hyungwon shaked his head in discontent (and maybe also in an attempt to shake off the flush on his cheeks), sighing as he headed over to his own locker to get dressed.

 

minhyuk snuck in one more kiss before he returned to the front of the store, leaving jooheon behind to deal with the situation.

  
  


“so,” he started, cautious as he moved over to hyungwon, “minhyuk told me you went on a date… with a guy.”

 

“yeah, so?” hyungwon didn’t mean to be snarky, and definitely not towards his best friend - but that’s exactly how it sounded and jooheon clearly heard it, judging from the way his eyes widened and brows raised. 

 

“...sorry for asking? i’m just surprised is all.” jooheon was undoubtedly a bit offended, arms folded over his chest as he continued, “i mean, we all knew that daycare teacher likes you, but you never — i thought…”

 

silence followed as jooheon couldn’t find the right words, and hyungwon slowly turned to face his friend, expression filled with guilt. he never meant for this to be a secret, and certainly didn't plan for jooheon to find out through someone other than himself. if only he hadn't had that stupid, selfish crush back in high school…

 

“i'm sorry i didn't tell you…” there was that sulky little purse of his lips again - wholy unintentional on hyungwon's part, but it nevertheless succeeded in gaining jooheon's forgiveness. the blonde cracked a smile - teeth and everything - as he reached out to pinch hyungwon's cheek. “aiyoo. it was about time you started dating anyway.” 

 

stepping back, jooheon grinned widely, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “ i'm really happy for you, wonnie. and i mean, hoseok of all people? you're one lucky fella.”

 

hyungwon flashed a smile in response, though remained silent - unable to muster up the courage to break jooheon's bubble and tell him about the miserable ending of a date and the day after - not when hyungwon knew how worrying and protective his friend could be. besides, jooheon occasionally went to pick up chaewon, as well, so hyungwon couldn't afford him holding some kind of grudge against the teacher.

 

"when did you find out?” jooheon asked as he went to sit down at the coffee table, folding his hands on the tabletop while looking up at his friend. hyungwon closed his locker after changing out of his coat and into his working jacket, an eyebrow cocked up questioningly, “found out what?”

 

“that you're into guys. was it hoseok? it has to be, right? i don't recall you having any crushes before.” jooheon was so excited about all of this, it nearly broke hyungwon's heart - because he knew he couldn't be honest to his best friend without damaging their friendship. so for the very first time, hyungwon decided to lie; “yeah, i guess...”

 

“ah, this is so great! so when's your second date, hm?” hyungwon was hoping for no more questions, but jooheon seemed far from done with them, nudging his chin towards the chair in front of him for hyungwon to sit down on - which he hesitantly obliged to, slowly taking a seat. “we haven't planned one yet…”

 

“but you're going to, right?” the conversation was starting to become a little painful, as hyungwon didn't really want to talk about hoseok for one, but he was also starting to question things he didn't want to be questioning. he'd turned down hoseok before, though now he was starting to consider the idea of second chances - that, maybe, hyungwon had been too hard on the daycare teacher due to the drama surrounding minhyuk, and that perhaps they should sit down and talk things through.

 

but then again, hoseok seemed to be hiding a lot of things — hyungwon realized he didn't even know the guy's surname or where he was born - only that he enjoyed traveling and liked dogs.

 

with a soft sigh, hyungwon nodded his head before slumping over the table - though only for a brief second, as he shot up when minhyuk barged through the door and announced his presence with a loud “shift's over!”.

 

“i guess i should be heading in, then.” hyungwon said as he got up rather quickly, forcing a smile at jooheon - who had narrowed his eyes in slight suspicion. there was no doubt about it that he had caught onto hyungwon by now, with how the older gave vague responses to his questions and how quickly he tried to take his leave - but that was something they could discuss later. now, he had to work.

 

oh, and— turning towards minhyuk, hyungwon glanced over his other friend, his lips jutting forward again. “you're okay, right..?”

 

the question came as a surprise, as was evident by how minhyuk's eyes widened slightly, before his expression softened into a reassuring smile and he nodded. it had been a while since hyungwon saw minhyuk glow like that (the last time being when minhyuk and jooheon started dating) - and immediately, all his previous concerns had disappeared. 

 

although he still had a lot to ask about what exactly happened that night, and what jooheon and changkyun had talked about to fix things - but for now, hyungwon could say his heart felt at ease.

 

“i'm sorry i worried you, wonnie.” minhyuk copied the pout hyungwon was sporting, reaching up to give his hair a playful tousle - which only increased the strength of said pout - and to make things even worse; he could hear jooheon suppress a cackle behind him. hyungwon wanted to complain, tell his friends to stop babying him for once - but he knew it would be a useless attempt.

 

nevertheless - as sulky as he looked right now - hyungwon was enjoying this little moment. it felt like ages since he genuinely smiled with his two best friends around. honestly, ever since changkyun just waltzed into their lives — right here, in this very store… things changed - were still changing - and hyungwon wasn't sure whether it was for the better or worse.

 

right now, it was definitely weighing down on the worse.

  
  


minhyuk headed over to the lockers to get changed and hyungwon passed through the door to get settled at the register. minutes later, the couple emerged from the back to say their final goodbyes - as they would often do when jooheon tagged along while hyungwon took over minhyuk’s shift — though minhyuk came to a halt when they were about to leave, turning back in the door opening. “oh, and don't forget! it's lunch-day tomorrow!”

 

right— tomorrow was a friday, and some years ago - shortly after minhyuk had taken the title as jooheon and hyungwon's best friend - the three decided to start a tradition: for as long as their friendship lasted, they would get together every single wednesday to eat lunch together. 

 

admittedly, they hadn't been holding up to that tradition for a while, but recently minhyuk insisted they should start getting together again. and so, lunch-friday was making its return.

 

“i wouldn't dare.” hyungwon chuckled softly, giving the two one last wave. “see you guys tomorrow!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i only have one chapter left that's written out and going through a major writer's block right now so i must warn you that updates from now on could be scarce...


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the gang gets back together, while changkyun tries to deal with family trouble.

“it’s hard, isn’t it?”

 

“what?”

 

“staying away from him.”

 

changkyun hadn’t noticed kihyun emerging from the shadows behind him - only turning his head when he heard a familiar voice to find the redhead climbing his way onto the brick wall he was seated upon, overlooking a rather familiar gas station.

 

“is this what you’ve been doing on those nights i couldn’t find you?” for some odd reason, kihyun sounded awfully sympathetic - no hint of ridicule or even amusement in his voice as he spoke, just genuine curiosity.

 

“only when i couldn’t make it home.” changkyun responded absentmindedly, his gaze following the movements of a particular worker within the store in front of them - only for his head to snap back at the sound of a mocking snort that sounded much more like the demon he knew. “what now?”

 

“sorry, you just - you called that human’s apartment your  _ home _ .” kihyun’s whole face scrunched up as he laughed - and changkyun absolutely hated it, pushing the other off the wall. however, that wouldn’t be very effective in ridding him of the little demon, as kihyun’s shadow slithered right back up the bricks before his physical body appeared from a puff of smoke. there he was again, flashing changkyun a shit-eating grin.

 

“just shut it, mazikeen.” changkyun muttered under his breath as he averted his gaze back to the view ahead of him. “what is the reason of your return, anyway?”

 

that’s where kihyun remained silent for once, his lips chewed down on as he tried to find the right words to explain himself without making it seem like he had been trying to help out changkyun anyway, despite telling the devil to fix his own mess - but no matter what, changkyun already knew. he needed no more than that silence to realize it.

 

“i’ve been keeping gabriel busy,” kihyun sighed in defeat, “to buy you some time. so please tell me you talked to michael, at least.”

 

changkyun turned back to look at the demon, smiling widely. kihyun’s loyalty was truly admirable - and for the first time in… forever, honestly - the devil gave his servant a proud pat to the shoulder. 

 

“i did, and succeeded. he agreed to stay.” changkyun decided not to add the ‘for now’ part, nor the whole ‘keeping hyungwon safe’ thing - as he wasn't in the mood to hear kihyun's nagging right now. there would definitely be an ‘i told you so', followed by a lecture on how both siblings were so incredibly stupid for growing feelings for a mortal being (which, by the way, absolutely wasn't true on changkyun's part - as stated by the devil himself).

 

the way kihyun's eyebrows cocked up with surprise, was definitely a more pleasant sight to see. “so he did, huh? wasn't expecting that, honestly.”

 

the conversation came to an end there, as changkyun didn’t respond with much more than a simple nod of his head, eyes narrowing cautiously as a car pulled up into the gas station. behind the wheel sat a person covered up by a hoodie, their face too dark for changkyun to make out any distinct features - though, be it only for a brief moment, he could feel their gazes meeting and the stranger scrutinizing him.

  
  


“okay, i tried to seduce your brother—”

 

changkyun's eyes widened, and he immediately turned back towards kihyun. “you did  _ what _ ?!”

 

apparently, kihyun had misinterpreted the silence as a timer for him to come clean - even though changkyun hadn’t  noticed something was wrong in the first place. although... it did make sense as to why the demon sounded awfully nice in the beginning.

 

“i admit i fucked up, alright! but he rejected me!”

 

changkyun inhaled sharply, his gaze shifting back and forth between kihyun and the customer - whom he had concluded was rather suspicious, and—  _ shit,  _ the stranger was gone. 

 

“and that is supposed to make me feel better, how exactly!?” the devil spat out as he looked back at kihyun, fists clenching. he would've attacked the demon right there on the wall - hadn't it been for the fact they were two meters off the ground and changkyun experienced random moments of vulnerability. now, two meters wasn't  _ that _ high, but the devil didn't exactly know the limits of a human body, considering he never had to worry about that before.

 

unfortunately, kihyun had also expected to be attacked - for at least  _ something _ to happen - so he obviously noticed changkyun's unfitting behavior. he tipped his head to the side, suspiciously eyeing the devil, “it wasn't really supposed to… but i thought you should know.”

 

trying to keep himself calm, changkyun closed his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly before he opened them back up. “so what you're trying to tell me is, you’ve failed to derive gabriel's attention, and he could come back anytime and start another ruckus?”

 

“that would be correct, but i also—”

 

“enough, mazikeen - i've heard enough,” changkyun sighed heavily, carefully making his way off the wall - patting off dirt and fixing his suit once he'd safely reached the ground. “new orders; keep an eye on hyungwon. i shall go and have a private talk with this brother of mine.”

 

///

 

“wonnie, over here!” jooheon called out as minhyuk waved with his usual overexcitement from across the cafe. of course, hyungwon couldn't be greeted by his friends without the experience of both first- and secondhand embarrassment, and his head hung low as the pink-haired male made his way over to the table.

 

jooheon had texted the night before, asking where they should meet up, and hyungwon responded with starbucks - but only because he knew that was exactly where minhyuk was going to drag them to despite all the other options of proper food. “nothing can beat the starbucks cheesecake” and all that.

 

a strawberry frappuccino had already been ordered and served for hyungwon as he sat down, opposite of his two friends. jooheon was smiling at him with this suspiciously anticipating look, whilst minhyuk was preoccupied with separating the crusty bottom of his cake from the top layer.

 

“don't worry,” jooheon reached underneath the table and pulled up a paper bag, “i got us some baguette sandwiches from the french bakery - your favorite.” if angels were a thing, jooheon was definitely one of them - taking out half a baguette with grilled chicken and tomato from the bag and laying it in front of hyungwon, on top of a tissue to serve as a plate.

 

now hyungwon understood why the couple had picked a spot so far away from the counter. though it wouldn't be the first time the three friends would bring in food from another store - and speaking from those experiences, chances were high no one was going to care about baguettes in a coffee shop.

 

“thank you.” hyungwon muttered softly, carefully adjusting the wrapping paper around his food so that only about a mouthful of bread was exposed, lessening the chances of spilling as he took a bite. of course, both his friends were eyeing him as he chewed, wearing that extremely lame expression of endearment that made hyungwon feel awfully small.

 

“you sure you don't need a bip with that?” minhyuk went ahead and made the joke that was certainly also on jooheon's mind.  hyungwon rolled his eyes with a groan, kicking minhyuk's shin underneath the table.

  
  


it started off as a normal lunch like any other, with playful banter and the occasional bite of their favorite foods - which they kindly shared amongst each other (though minhyuk might've eaten more of the grilled chicken than hyungwon had allowed him to).

 

they caught up on little details about their lives; jooheon's family visit and his education, as well as minhyuk's jobs and the couple's hunt for a new apartment. they reminisced about their early days of friendship, laughed about jooheon and minhyuk's awkward first meeting - before the conversation came to a complete stop as they threatened to venture into hyungwon's college days.

 

it had only been a little over a year since hyungwon dropped out, so the wound was still fresh. he wasn't ready to carelessly talk about  _ that _ \- not yet.

 

“okay, topic change. what about your roommate?” minhyuk spoke up as he scooted his chair closer to the table and propped an elbow on top, resting his chin in the palm of his hand, “it's been, like, over a month since he moved in, but you never really talked about him. tell us, what's he like?”

 

hyungwon sat back, lips pursing as he briefly glanced over at jooheon, who seemed just as interested as his boyfriend. after all - while hyungwon and jooheon did have some conversations concerning changkyun - there really wasn't that much hyungwon had revealed. but then again, changkyun never revealed much, so hyungwon didn't exactly have a lot to talk about in the first place.

 

(in fact, jooheon actually knew  _ most _ about the devil at that moment - but no one was aware of that just yet.)

 

“what is there to say about him, really?” hyungwon started with a small chuckle, taking a long sip of his frappé afterwards to excuse another moment of silence - gathering his thoughts and putting them in order.

 

“he has an incredibly lame sense of humor, absolutely loves whiskey but never gets drunk, has an equally weird friend named kihyun and he has a tendency of disappearing for days every so often.” that about summed it all up for hyungwon, and he nodded in confirmation to himself as he placed his drink back down. there were little details he left out, like how changkyun would cook breakfast nearly every morning and how he'd do the dishes… and the laundry… and how he was overall the perfect housemate - but hyungwon didn't think that was all that important.

 

“didn't you tell me he made you breakfast once?” 

 

jooheon - oh, dear  _ jooheon _ . of  _ course _ he had to mention exactly  _ that _ . hyungwon clenched his jaw, and minhyuk was quick to lean forward even more, eyes wide with curiosity. here we go…

 

“that guy at the club also said changkyun was worried for you!” the eldest jumped in straight away, and the revelation had jooheon turn his head towards his boyfriend. “really?!”

 

minhyuk nodded, turning back to face hyungwon with this stupidly wide and suspicious grin on his lips. “so,” he singsonged, eyes narrowing, “there's something more going on, isn't there?”

 

hyungwon leaned back with wide eyes, about to exclaim how absurd minhyuk's conclusion was - but jooheon beat him to it with adding only more fuel to the fire; “don't be silly, hyuk. hyungwon is already dating his brother.”

 

“wait… brother? whose brother?” hyungwon was clearly missing some information here, eyebrows knitting into a confused frown - “yeah, hoseok. you said you two were dating, right?” — and jooheon threw that information right at him - just like that.

 

his frown deepened as hyungwon slumped back in his seat, staring at the tabletop - all the noises around him muffling as he processed this new information - tried to wrap his head around it. it made sense… in a way — though at the same time, it really didn't. changkyun and hoseok were  _ nothing  _ alike, and hoseok had never mentioned a sibling before…

 

not that there was ever a real opportunity for him to do so, and with changkyun's claims of being kicked out of the house, it could've been they were on bad terms - which is why they never spoke about one another. it also made sense as to why hoseok seemed so upset when changkyun interrupted their date - and most importantly; now hyungwon realized why hoseok's accent sounded so awfully familiar.

 

okay, that wasn't really the most important part of this all. but it definitely answered some questions.

 

however - whether hyungwon was making sense of it or not — none of this took away from the fact that he felt incredibly disappointed hoseok never told him. changkyun, he could kind of forgive - but hoseok could've said something during their date instead of walking off and leaving hyungwon heartbroken, resulting in waking up to his first hangover and minhyuk missing… 

 

what exactly happened with minhyuk, anyway? there had been so much drama - especially between him and jooheon - and then suddenly everything was okay — and now they were here.

  
  


“i’m guessing he didn’t know, either.” minhyuk’s voice pulled hyungwon back to reality, his gaze returning to the two friends who had come to lean back in their seats as well - jooheon in particular wearing an expression of regret. he clearly wasn’t aware that hyungwon didn’t know - which hyungwon really didn’t blame him for - but that didn’t make this moment any less awkward.

 

“hoseok and changkyun are really..?” hyungwon approached the topic cautiously, reluctant to ask his question because in all honesty, he really didn’t want this to be confirmed. if those two were indeed siblings, something told hyungwon his life was going to become a whole lot more complicated. 

 

jooheon pursed his lips, his head moving in an unfortunate nod. “that’s what your roommate told me, at least.” though it didn’t exactly confirm anything - as changkyun had the tendency to make things up - it fit the missing piece of the puzzle. as much as hyungwon believed in coincidences, the recent happenings between him, changkyun and hoseok definitely didn’t feel like one.

  
  


“but what about that hyunwoo guy?” finally, hyungwon took the opportunity to ask, his gaze drifting towards minhyuk - who briefly had his eyes widened in surprise. “how does he fit in all this? i know he knows hoseok - and why was he going after you?”

 

the momentary silence that followed, along with the glances exchanged by the boyfriends, told hyungwon he needed to prepare for this one.

 

“he’s also… their brother.” jooheon answered - and nope, there was no way hyungwon could’ve prepared himself for this. minhyuk was right; there  _ was _ something going on — but it wasn’t some secret romance kind of thing - instead, hyungwon had found himself tangled up in someone else’s family feud. (and not just him, but his friends as well. cracking a cold one with the boys was totally overrated now.)

 

absolutely overwhelmed by all this new information, hyungwon propped his elbows onto the table and threaded his fingers through his hair - his head aching as he tried so desperately to make sense of all this. 

 

but it didn’t - it really didn’t. none of this was normal, and none of it was going to make sense even with the most far fetched kind of thoughts. (though there was  _ one _ , but hyungwon refused to consider that possibility.)

 

“there’s nothing to worry about,” minhyuk spoke up, his voice gentle and warm - as was his touch to hyungwon’s forearm as the older loosely curled his fingers around it, “jooheon told me you both were afraid he’d hurt me - but nothing happened. hyunwoo’s just a sweet guy who i offered to drive home because he had been drinking. he wanted to make me some coffee as he’d seen how exhausted i was, and i so happened to fall asleep on his couch.” 

 

minhyuk was trying to reassure, and it worked - albeit for only a second, as hyungwon recalled the heated discussion he’d walked into three days ago. “but… i overheard hoseok saying the guy was using you…”

 

another silence followed as both jooheon and minhyuk sat back for a moment with a thoughtful frown knitted onto their foreheads. 

 

“i never thought i'd be saying this, but,” jooheon started, his words mumbled and barely coherent to hyungwon. he sat up straight, breathing out a sigh before continuing in an audible voice; “i think it was all just one big misunderstanding.”

 

that definitely was something hyungwon didn't think he'd be hearing from jooheon anytime soon - not with how skeptical he had been towards changkyun. some days more than others, but it was clear to hyungwon that his friend didn't plan on trusting his roommate anytime soon — up until two nights ago.

 

“changkyun basically told me he's on bad terms with most of his family - him  _ and _ hoseok - so i doubt they have nice things to say about hyunwoo, and vice versa. they probably just over exaggerated their accusations.” jooheon continued - and it made sense, but hyungwon wasn't liking how he was supposed to just take it, and that no one had told him about all of this before. (not like there was really an opportunity, especially as everything happened to fast - though that wouldn't stop hyungwon from feeling upset.)

 

“and i totally get where you're coming from— i was suspicious of hyunwoo, too. but if minhyuk claims nothing happened and he's a good guy, shouldn't we give him the benefit of the doubt?”

 

hyungwon couldn't help but chuckle dryly at jooheon's question, finding it quite ironic how hyunwoo was shown mercy while changkyun was instantly labeled as creepy and evil. okay, sure - that was kind of because of the whole ‘devil’ thing, though jooheon still remained skeptical even after hyungwon tried to reassure him.

 

“i… guess.” was hyungwon's final answer, scratching at his scalp as he could swear all of this new information was making his head itch. he considered starting a diary at this point to write down everything that had been happening recently - maybe that would get his thoughts in order. 

  
  


“it has been a hectic week,” minhyuk heaved out, “but, every cloud has a silver lining! i mean, look at us. we're celebrating lunch day again and bonding over boys - and we've never bonded over boys before, which means we're making progress!” he attempted at lighting up the mood, and it would be unlike minhyuk not to succeed in putting a smile to his friends’ faces - which is exactly what he did.

 

hyungwon reached for his frappucino to take a sip while jooheon stole the last bite of cheesecake from minhyuk's plate - much to the eldest’ displeasure, and he immediately reached over to squeeze the life out of jooheon's cheeks.

 

and just like that, everything went back to normal - albeit for only a little while. at that moment, no one really cared - didn't worry for the nearby future that was lurking just around the corner. 

 

for now, they were genuinely happy.

 

///

 

it was already eight in the evening by the time hyungwon got back home, his steps soft and careful as he tiptoed into the apartment for no particular reason at all. though he wouldn't make it far without going unnoticed - as when he closed the door as silently as possible and turned around, changkyun was waiting right in front of him.

 

“oh my god-” hyungwon exclaimed in shock, dropping his keys to the floor as his hand came to rest on his chest.

 

the smaller male - who'd worn a little smile on his lips just seconds ago - scrunched up his nose and crossed his arms. undoubtedly, changkyun was about to make another lame dad joke — however, much to hyungwon's surprise, he left it at a sharp inhale before muttering a soft “welcome home". changkyun then turned around and headed for the living area, where he appeared to be watching some generic romance drama - and flopped down onto the couch.

 

his behavior was a little… odd, though nothing quite out of the ordinary - and hyungwon decided to join his roommate after retrieving his keys and placing them onto the kitchen counter.

 

“mind if i join you?” hyungwon had come to notice how his voice would always sound a pitch higher and softer when he spoke to changkyun - which was really starting to annoy him. he cleared his throat in attempt to fix that - just as his roommate averted his gaze up to him, and hyungwon immediately dropped his own gaze to the floor.

 

“do you really need my approval to sit on your own furniture?” hyungwon could hear the smile in changkyun's voice, causing him to look back up with a bit more confidence - emitting a shy chuckle after their gazes locked for a brief moment, before he went ahead and took a seat next to the other.

 

their relationship was confusing - hyungwon had come to conclude. some days were more awkward than others; sometimes changkyun was nice, while he was inexplicably distant at other times. there were moments where hyungwon had felt like they were really bonding - only for changkyun to disappear for days afterwards…

 

but he always came back - and so did hyungwon. what he'd told jooheon before - the thing about feeling an odd kind of attraction towards changkyun - was true. hyungwon really felt a strong connection with changkyun, and while he couldn't really explain why, he sensed the feeling was mutual in some kind of way.

 

“what are you watching?” hyungwon questioned despite the answer playing on the television right in front of him. however, it was way more entertaining to watch changkyun as he leaned forward and propped his elbows onto his knees, thoroughly invested in the scene that unfolded on the screen.

 

“darn it, minam! everything would have been so much easier if you just liked jeremy.” changkyun exclaimed as he flung himself back against the cushions, heaving out a sigh afterwards. “just some… ridiculous show about a female who disguises herself as her brother and plays in a band and—” 

 

hyungwon was trying really hard to hold his laughter - but it was difficult when changkyun was acting so distraught over a television show (which hyungwon had seen its fair share of reruns of in the past nine years, so to see someone react so intensely upon first watch was quite refreshing - and entertaining).

 

“please explain to me why humans just  _ love _ to torture themselves, because i really don't understand. here you have this wonderful, sweet and caring man who would do anything for the girl - though this girl just turns around and chases after the inconsiderate prick, who has nothing to offer but pain and suffering. stupid - just  _ stupid _ .”

 

for a moment, hyungwon was at a complete loss for words - surprised by how deeply changkyun was looking into this and considering the possibility that he might be hinting at something — but that sounded about as ridiculous as the plot changkyun had pointed out.

 

“it's called a plot device. it keeps people watching, numbers high, money flowing… you know.”

 

but changkyun didn't really seem to know, even though he'd claimed to have watched a lot of tv shows. nonetheless, he nodded with pursed lips and a scrunched nose, then shrugged - and hyungwon found himself smiling at the sight.

  
  


their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell, both gazes simultaneously turning to the door, and then back to each other.

 

“were you expecting someone?” hyungwon asked, to which changkyun shaked his head and immediately got up from the couch to check out who awaited them at the door.

 

immediately, the thought of the hooded stranger at the gas station popped up in his head, and changkyun felt an odd, throbbing sensation in his chest as he slowly headed into the hallway. he'd sensed that person was up to no good with how they were scoping out hyungwon's workplace - and it wouldn't surprise him if they turned out to be a so called stalker.

 

now, when changkyun opened the door to reveal the stranger's identity, he wasn't sure whether he had preferred to see that hooded person rather than his own brother - but he'd quickly made up his mind by the time his sight fell upon the bouquet of flowers in the man’s hands.

 

“aphrodite, it's for you.” was all he said before turning around and disappearing into his bedroom.

  
  


hyungwon leaned over the armrest of the couch to peek into the hallway - jumping up quickly at the sight of hoseok in the doorway. he was both excited to see the other again, and hesitant due to recent events. also —  _ that _ was changkyun's  _ brother _ .

 

“aphrodite..?” hoseok started with a light chuckle as hyungwon came to lean against the wall by the door, arms folded over his chest. he followed up with an equally light and awkward chuckle in response, briefly scratching at his nape, “yeah, he called me that when we met and it kinda just… stuck.”

 

was it a weird nickname? hyungwon wasn't too sure - he never really bothered to question it and dismissed the name with a roll of his eyes in the beginning, and nowadays, he doesn't even blink twice when changkyun would call him that.

 

“so… how... why are you here?”

 

there was a moment of silence (admittedly a bit tense) that followed where hoseok grinned shyly to himself as he tried to look for the right words to say - whilst hyungwon scrutinized the male in front of him. he didn’t mean to come off as strongly as he did - but hyungwon was only human and he had the right to feel upset and cautious towards hoseok’s intentions.

 

finally, hoseok held out the bouquet of purple hyacinths and carnations. it was prettily wrapped in lilac paper with a white, silk ribbon - and from it dangled a little note that read “please forgive me”.

 

“i… i never apologized for what happened, nor did i answer any of your questions when it was important to do so,” now it was hoseok’s turn to awkwardly scratch at his nape - his gaze then slowly rising to meet hyungwon’s. “so i wanted to come over and say i’m sorry - and talk, because i owe you an explanation, at the very least. and..,” he didn’t actually lock eyes as he continued on, smiling sheepishly, “perhaps… ask for a second chance?”

 

hyungwon had always imagined hoseok to be a true gentleman, an absolute angel - and this moment confirmed those feelings once again - all previous concerns thrown out of the window just like that. perhaps it was the wrong decision to make - no, it was  _ definitely _ not smart to forgive and forget - but hyungwon could be so naive sometimes…

 

so even as his feet were reluctant to move, hyungwon forced himself to step aside and hold open the door for hoseok to enter. 

 

“alright, let's talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> with this darned writers block ongoing, i'm not sure if i'll be able to update frequently anymore.. but i hope you guys enjoy this story nonetheless and will stick around till the end with me. this is the first chaptered fic i've written in years and i do have a lot of fun with it ;; anyways, thank you once again for reading <3


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